Minnesota Vikings benefit from salary cap increase for 2018 NFL season
By Adam Carlson
The NFL salary cap for the 2018 NFL season is increasing significantly and one of the teams who will benefit from it the most is the Minnesota Vikings.
A team can be smart in the draft and develop their players well but in the end, success can come down to being able to retain these players or bring in key pieces to the puzzle to fill out the roster of a franchise like the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings are in a bit of a pickle entering the 2018 NFL season. Not only are they in the hunt to find a franchise quarterback going forward, but they will need to retain key free agents like Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, Stefon Diggs, and others next offseason.
Thankfully, the news was handed down last night that the salary cap for the 2018 season will be increased significantly by multiple sources including NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo on Twitter:
Teams have been notified the NFL salary cap has been set at $177.2 million, sources say.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 5, 2018
The salary cap for the 2017 season was $167 million, so that means that teams will have an additional $10.2 million available this year, an increase of 6.1%.
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Spotrac has some interesting salary numbers for the Vikings, including a rollover from last year valued at $13,729,203. This means that the team will have an adjusted salary cap number of $190,929,203.
Including anticipated salaries from their draft picks, top 51 players, and dead cap from released players, they have tied up $142,831,342 of their funds. When subtracting that from the team’s adjusted cap, that means the team will have $42,727,571 available for bringing in free agents or signing their own players back.
What the Vikings will do with this approximate $42.7 million is up in the air, but they will need to not only get their quarterback but ensure that they don’t lose important parts of their offense or defense in free agency next year.
Next: Who will be the Vikings' backup QB in 2018?
How do you think the Minnesota Vikings should spend their salary cap? Should they go all-in on a franchise quarterback or should they try to ensure that they can bring back as many pieces of the current team as possible while looking to the draft or free agency for a passer? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.