The Wilfs Appreciation Thread

“There was a time before the Wilfs arrived when former players were really disenchanted with the team’s attitude toward them,” said former tight end Steve Jordan (1982-94), who will become the 25th member of the Vikings Ring of Honor during a halftime ceremony of Thursday night’s game against Washington at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“In this game, rarely do you get to leave on your own terms. And then on top of that, if the team shows they really don’t want you around, that makes things worse. What I’ve seen from the Wilfs is just a complete turnaround. It’s as simple as that.”

Five years ago, the Wilfs dedicated two full-time positions to handling alumni. Deb Jones, who joined the team’s public relations staff in 1990, became senior manager of alumni affairs. Tracy McDonald is alumni affairs coordinator.

“I didn’t see that happening, but I do thank God for it,” Jones said. “There’s enough work for two people.”

The Vikings send alumni a quarterly newsletter. They give every alumnus a lifetime pass to the Vikings museum. They coordinate more than 300 alumni community visits per year.

They also involve the alumni in training camp events, the holiday party, the draft party, the Taste of the NFL and other special events like last year’s curling tournament.

“We really want to make an effort to be top in the league in alumni relations,” Mark Wilf said. “We’re competitive in that area as well.”

Besides the Ring of Honor, the Vikings hosted a record 124 alumni during their Legends Weekend in Week 2.

“I hadn’t been back in 20 years,” said former receiver Bob Grim, one of 21 alumni honored during the 50th anniversary celebration of the 1969 team. “The Wilfs have done a great job re-energizing the history of the franchise.”

Jones said coach Mike Zimmer has an open-door practice policy for the alumni and guests on Saturdays.

“During the Legends Weekend, we had over 200 people signed up to watch practice,” Jones said. “I was kind of taken aback. I was like, ‘They’re not going to allow us to do it this year.’ But Coach Zim and [General Manager] Rick Spielman had us in there with open arms.”

Why?

“I’ve always put the NFL kind of on a pedestal,” Zimmer said. “The reason guys today have the opportunities and make the money they have is because of all the guys who played before them. Those guys had to get summer jobs and things like that.”

Zygi Wilf still has a white football signed by every member of a Giants team from the 1960s sitting on his desk. He got the autographs working the locker room as the son of a man who built homes for the players.

“The fan in you stays in you,” Zygi said. “We’ve been fans for so long. One of our cornerstones is the passion we have for tradition. There’s nothing more traditional than being able to honor and respect the players who made the NFL as big as it has become.”

Or, as Mark adds, “They built what we got here, so we got to honor that. It’s putting resources into it, but it’s also an attitude that we want them to know we got their back.”

The Minnesota Vikings have once again landed on the list of the most valuable sports teams from Forbes, proving their value.

When Forbes releases their annual list of the most valuable sports teams in the world, the Minnesota Vikings typically find themselves appearing in the top 50 every time. While much of this has to do with the team’s amazing stadium and new team facilities constructed over the last few years, it’s crazy to think of how the Vikings were sold for a mere $600 million in 2005.

In fact, ever since the Wilf family took over ownership of the franchise, the team’s value has skyrocketed. As of the 2020 list from Forbes, the Vikings have an approximate value of $2.7 billion, earning them the 33rd spot on the list, a two-spot rise from being 35th last year.

For a smaller market team that has never won a Super Bowl, that is quite impressive. In fact, when looking at the other franchises on the list, it says a lot about the Wilf family and the state of Minnesota’s investment in the franchise.

If the list were only NFL teams, the Minnesota Vikings would rank 19th, which matches that mark from last year. While that would be slightly below the median of 16, the fact the team’s value has grown the way it has over the years is quite amazing.

Here are the NFL teams who ranked above the Vikings on the list and where they ranked among the football teams:

Dallas Cowboys
New England Patriots
New York Giants
Los Angeles Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Chicago Bears
Washington Football Team
New York Jets
Houston Texans
Philadelphia Eagles
Denver Broncos
Las Vegas Raiders
Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Miami Dolphins
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens