Hunter's Contract Situation 2.0 - one-year deal worth $20M
Mar 3, 2023 15:18:56 GMT -6
FSUVike likes this
Post by Purple Pain on Mar 3, 2023 15:18:56 GMT -6
Feels like we've been here before, no?
Matt Fries: There’s One Ideal Way To Deal With Danielle Hunter’s Contract
At the link: film study and analysis, bounce-back season, fit in Flores' defense, RAS score comparison, etc.
Matt Fries: There’s One Ideal Way To Deal With Danielle Hunter’s Contract
The Minnesota Vikings will undergo significant changes on the defensive side of the ball this offseason given their cap situation and after they named Brian Flores as their new defensive coordinator. Many of the players on Minnesota’s defense are aging holdovers from the Mike Zimmer era. Danielle Hunter is one of those players, and his current contract puts the Vikings in an interesting situation.
CONTRACT SITUATION
Hunter initially signed a five-year, $72 million extension in 2018. However, coming off of an injured 2020 season, Hunter was reportedly unhappy with his deal, and he negotiated with then-GM Rick Spielman to hopefully force a decision on the contract before the 2022 season. The result was an $18 million roster bonus that triggered early in the 2022 league year. New GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, not beholden to the previous negotiations, decided to keep Hunter’s contract on and eat the entirety of the roster bonus, which was later converted into a signing bonus to create cap space in 2022.
These actions led to the current situation: The Vikings owe Hunter about $13 million against the cap in 2023 (all cap information in this article is from Over the Cap), and stand to owe him about $11 million in 2024, when he will be off the roster because his contract voids. However, on Hunter’s end, the Vikings will only pay him $5.5 million in cash in 2023. The rest of the salary cap dollars are going to prorated bonuses that have already been paid. Already having renegotiated once hoping to get more money, Hunter is unlikely to want to play while receiving just $5.5 million in new money in 2023. So what should the Vikings do with his contract?
For a player entering the last year of his deal, Hunter is very difficult to move on from. Because of all the pro-rated bonus money and the void years in his contract, cutting or trading him would cost the Vikings $5.74 million more in 2023 than keeping him on the roster. Even a post-June 1 move only saves about $5.5 million, while incurring significant future cap hits.
To me, a contract extension is the best move for the Vikings and Hunter. The Vikings lock up a high-performing player at a high value position in a time of transition and Hunter gets financial security. I’ll get into the details of a potential extension later, but first let’s look at why Hunter deserves it in the first place.
CONTRACT SITUATION
Hunter initially signed a five-year, $72 million extension in 2018. However, coming off of an injured 2020 season, Hunter was reportedly unhappy with his deal, and he negotiated with then-GM Rick Spielman to hopefully force a decision on the contract before the 2022 season. The result was an $18 million roster bonus that triggered early in the 2022 league year. New GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, not beholden to the previous negotiations, decided to keep Hunter’s contract on and eat the entirety of the roster bonus, which was later converted into a signing bonus to create cap space in 2022.
These actions led to the current situation: The Vikings owe Hunter about $13 million against the cap in 2023 (all cap information in this article is from Over the Cap), and stand to owe him about $11 million in 2024, when he will be off the roster because his contract voids. However, on Hunter’s end, the Vikings will only pay him $5.5 million in cash in 2023. The rest of the salary cap dollars are going to prorated bonuses that have already been paid. Already having renegotiated once hoping to get more money, Hunter is unlikely to want to play while receiving just $5.5 million in new money in 2023. So what should the Vikings do with his contract?
For a player entering the last year of his deal, Hunter is very difficult to move on from. Because of all the pro-rated bonus money and the void years in his contract, cutting or trading him would cost the Vikings $5.74 million more in 2023 than keeping him on the roster. Even a post-June 1 move only saves about $5.5 million, while incurring significant future cap hits.
To me, a contract extension is the best move for the Vikings and Hunter. The Vikings lock up a high-performing player at a high value position in a time of transition and Hunter gets financial security. I’ll get into the details of a potential extension later, but first let’s look at why Hunter deserves it in the first place.
At the link: film study and analysis, bounce-back season, fit in Flores' defense, RAS score comparison, etc.
CONTRACT EXTENSION
What does a potential extension for Hunter look like? The most recent big deal for an edge rusher was for Bradley Chubb, a 27-year-old who got a five-year, $110 million contract. It’s unlikely that Hunter reaches that AAV on a new deal. Shaq Barrett, who signed a four-year, $68 million contract in 2021 at age 29, the same age as Hunter is now. We can expect Hunter to get more than that $17 million per year average. Von Miller was a little bit older but a bigger name, and he signed a six-year, $120 million contract with the Buffalo Bills last offseason.
The Vikings could easily make $20 million per year for Hunter, but let’s slot him in slightly below Miller at $19 million per year on an extension. Cap flexibility is the reason for Minnesota to do this deal, so a short extension is tough given the cap charges that they already owe. A deal for two additional years is possible, but let’s add three years to the current deal with one void year. You could go to a four-year extension, but signing bonus proration only extends out for five years.
That means we are extending Hunter for three years with $57 million in new money. He would be under contract through 2026, and his contract would void before the 2027 season. Part of the motivation for Hunter is wanting money now, so let’s give him a $20 million signing bonus, and $30 million in total guarantees, guaranteeing his 2023 and 2024 salaries.
In the signing bonus, I’m including a conversion of his 2023 base salary and roster plus workout bonuses into a bonus, and giving him the minimum $1.1 million salary for 2023. With a $4 million signing bonus hit every year of the contract, this works out to a decrease in his 2023 cap hit to $12.7 million. His base salary in 2024 will be $9 million, which can be later converted into signing bonus to further reduce his cap hit. I gave him base salaries of $11.5 million in 2025 and $17.8 million in 2026 to make numbers round. Then 2026 would present a year where the Vikings could save money by cutting Hunter if his play drops off.
Here is what the structure looks like compared to his current deal:
Hunter’s contract may not be tradable or cuttable, but extending him makes sense for both sides.
What does a potential extension for Hunter look like? The most recent big deal for an edge rusher was for Bradley Chubb, a 27-year-old who got a five-year, $110 million contract. It’s unlikely that Hunter reaches that AAV on a new deal. Shaq Barrett, who signed a four-year, $68 million contract in 2021 at age 29, the same age as Hunter is now. We can expect Hunter to get more than that $17 million per year average. Von Miller was a little bit older but a bigger name, and he signed a six-year, $120 million contract with the Buffalo Bills last offseason.
The Vikings could easily make $20 million per year for Hunter, but let’s slot him in slightly below Miller at $19 million per year on an extension. Cap flexibility is the reason for Minnesota to do this deal, so a short extension is tough given the cap charges that they already owe. A deal for two additional years is possible, but let’s add three years to the current deal with one void year. You could go to a four-year extension, but signing bonus proration only extends out for five years.
That means we are extending Hunter for three years with $57 million in new money. He would be under contract through 2026, and his contract would void before the 2027 season. Part of the motivation for Hunter is wanting money now, so let’s give him a $20 million signing bonus, and $30 million in total guarantees, guaranteeing his 2023 and 2024 salaries.
In the signing bonus, I’m including a conversion of his 2023 base salary and roster plus workout bonuses into a bonus, and giving him the minimum $1.1 million salary for 2023. With a $4 million signing bonus hit every year of the contract, this works out to a decrease in his 2023 cap hit to $12.7 million. His base salary in 2024 will be $9 million, which can be later converted into signing bonus to further reduce his cap hit. I gave him base salaries of $11.5 million in 2025 and $17.8 million in 2026 to make numbers round. Then 2026 would present a year where the Vikings could save money by cutting Hunter if his play drops off.
Here is what the structure looks like compared to his current deal:
Hunter’s contract may not be tradable or cuttable, but extending him makes sense for both sides.
... and neither is this Chris guy.