4 of the richest contracts ever given out by the Minnesota Vikings
By Adam Patrick
Daunte Culpepper – QB
- Average Salary in 2003: $10.2 million
- Average Salary in 2020: $27 million
Before Kirk Cousins signed his record-breaking deal in 2018, Daunte Culpepper was the quarterback getting handed stacks of cash from the Vikings.
With Culpepper only having one year left on his rookie contract in 2003, the young quarterback was hoping to land a new deal from Minnesota during the offseason. Eventually, the Vikings and Culpepper were able to agree to a 10-year (yes, 10), $102 million extension.
The new deal came with a $16 million signing bonus and the total value of the contract ranked as the third-most in NFL history at the time it was signed.
Since 2003, the league’s salary cap has experienced a 165 percent increase. When factoring in this percentage increase, Culpepper’s average yearly salary of the contract he signed in 2003 would be around $27 million in 2020.
His adjusted value would tie him with Matthew Stafford as the 11th-highest in the NFL this year. However, Culpepper’s adjusted amount would be higher than the 2020 average yearly salary of guys like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Philip Rivers.