Anthony Barr screamed with joy after re-signing with the Vikings in March

Recently released details gave an in-depth look at how the veteran linebacker managed to re-sign with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason.

Week 17 against the Chicago Bears last season was assumed by many to be the final game for linebacker Anthony Barr as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

Barr was scheduled to become a free agent in 2019 and his price tag seemed like it would be too high for the Vikings to afford. Luckily for Minnesota, however, the veteran linebacker ended up choosing the team that drafted him over an offer from another franchise that would’ve paid him much more.

According to a recent report by ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and Rich Cimini, Barr originally told his agent that he was willing to sign with the New York Jets if they offered him a yearly salary over $15 million. New York was apparently willing to do this, so it appeared that the linebacker was not going to return to the Vikings in 2019.

However, Barr immediately had second thoughts about leaving Minnesota to sign with the Jets and he told his agent Ryan Williams, “I feel like I just made the worst mistake of my life.”

Knowing his client wasn’t as ecstatic as he should have been about signing a big free agent deal with New York, Williams then contacted the Vikings and told them to send him their best final offer for the linebacker.

What Minnesota could pay Barr was nothing close to what the Jets were offering. But even though the linebacker would be earning less money, his agent knew Barr would be much happier if he continued to play football in the Twin Cities.

So after agreeing to a new deal with the Vikings, Williams called the linebacker to let him know that he was officially remaining in Minnesota.

Barr’s agent got a much different reaction from his client this time.

"“I said, ‘Congrats, dude, you’re a Viking.’ And he literally screamed that this was the best day of his life.”"

After getting confirmation from Williams, Barr told his mother the news over FaceTime and their reactions were reportedly similar to what occasionally happens when someone cuts onions.

There are a number of stories about NFL players attempting to earn as much money as they possibly can, even if it means signing with a highly, unsuccessful franchise. But this was not the case for Barr as he opted against going with the most lucrative deal he was offered.

Let’s not act like the linebacker is getting paid pennies now though either, because he will still earn a nice chunk of change from his new contract with Minnesota. It was still refreshing, however, to see Barr take less money to stay with the Vikings due to the winning culture the team has built over the past few years.

Looking back on it, choosing to stay with Minnesota instead of signing with a New York team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011 actually seems like it was a pretty easy decision for the linebacker to make.