The Minnesota Vikings have yet to sign either of their first-round picks to contracts. In fact, they have two of the four NFL Draft picks to have not signed their rookie contracts in quarterback J.J. McCarthy and edge rusher Dallas Turner.
There are multiple reasons why both players might not be signed as of yet, but the biggest one is the financial structure of the contract.
About a month ago, I wrote about a possible McCarthy holdout because it was being discussed across social media. There are reasons for a player to hold out with the rookie wage scale with the main ones being offset language and payout structure of the signing bonus.
Why Caleb Williams impacts J.J. McCarthy
We know that McCarthy has wanted his signing bonus up front. It's been discussed consistently for the last couple of months. We don't know if there will be a concession on either side as of now, but the Vikings have a recent history of breaking their own precedent under owners Zygi and Mark Wilf.
The Vikings haven't paid out the entire signing bonus at once before. That doesn't necessarily mean much, as they had never fully guaranteed a three-year contract (Kirk Cousins), they hadn't guaranteed salary into year two of the extension (T.J. Hockenson) and they instituted a paradigm shift with the Justin Jefferson extension.
With Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams having agreed to terms on his contract on Tuesday, it still hasn't been signed. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported earlier on Wednesday that Williams' camp is fighting to have a clause put into the contract that the Bears won't put the franchise tag on him.
interesting update from @ProFootballTalk on the @670TheScore: Florio said that Caleb's team asked the Bears to agree to not use the franchise tag on him (they did not agree) and that as of now, he has not signed, but contract is in hand and they are going over final language.
— Kalyn Kahler (@kalynkahler) July 17, 2024
Plus, Williams will be getting his full signing bonus shortly after signing on the dotted line. That could end up being a big thing for the Vikings since that is what McCarthy is looking for.
Now, none of this could end up mattering, but it will be a conversation until McCarthy signs on the dotted line.
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