Vikings give Adam Thielen a big, $64 million contract extension

The Minnesota Vikings star receiver inked a contract extension on Friday that will pay him $64 million over four years and could be worth up to $73 million.

The Minnesota Vikings crossed off another item on their offseason to do list on Friday afternoon as news broke  that the team has reached an agreement on a contract extension with wide receiver Adam Thielen.

Thielen’s deal, which was reported by the Star-Tribune’s Ben Goessling, is worth $64 million over four years and could be worth up to $73 million with incentives.

Thielen’s rise from UDFA out of Minnesota State-Mankato to All-Pro wide receiver has been well documented. But Thielen, who will turn 29-years-old in August, posted his best season as a pro in 2018.

After breaking Charlie Hennigan’s record for the most 100-yard receiving games to start a season with seven, Thielen went on to post 113 receptions, 1,373 yards and nine touchdowns for the Vikings last year.

Thielen’s monster season made his previous deal — a four-year, $17 million contract signed prior to the 2017 season — laughable and his agent, Blake Baratz, made it known that his client was seeking an extension in a radio interview earlier this offseason.

"“This team has a lot of really good things in place for it, and I know they want to take care of Adam and I know they want Adam there and I know they want to reward Adam. He has a couple of years left on his deal but he’s earned a significant pay raise.”"

That raise has come for Thielen as Minnesota has now locked up one of the top wide receiver duos in the league after also signing Stefon Diggs to a five-year, $75 million extension last summer.

Both signings should make sure that Kirk Cousins will have his top weapons over the next two seasons before his contract expires. But it will be interesting to see how the Vikings frame Thielen’s contract as they head into the upcoming NFL Draft with the second-smallest amount of cap space in the league.

With Thielen agreeing to a new deal, it’s likely that little amount of cap space could increase and allow the Vikings to make another roster move with their extra spending money. Either way, this is a great deal for Minnesota and their star receiver.