Minnesota Vikings: Adam Thielen is most underpaid receiver in NFL
By Joe Kipp
Minnesota Vikings receiver Adam Thielen has overachieved his entire career. The same can be said about his current contract situation.
The Minnesota Vikings have a terrific tandem at wide receiver, perhaps the best duo in the entire NFL. Both Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs boast incredible ability, but can do very different things. The two combined for 215 receptions, 2,394 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2018.
One of these players earns an average annual salary of $14.4 million. The other earns an average of $4.8 million per year. Can you guess who is who?
In 2017, Thielen signed a four-year, $19.3 million contract with the Vikings, per Spotrac. The deal included a $4 million signing bonus and $9.6 million guaranteed. As the 28th highest-paid receiver, Thielen is easily one of the most underpaid players in the entire NFL.
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On the flip side, at the time of signing his contract extension in 2018, Diggs yielded a five-year, $72 million deal. Diggs garnered a $15 million signing bonus alone, not to mention $40 million in guaranteed money. Diggs’ guaranteed money more than doubles Thielen’s entire contract.
Sure, both players may be making millions of dollars per year, and it seems hyperbolic to complain about something like that. But the math simply doesn’t add up on Thielen. And yes, he may have signed his current contract before the beginning of his first breakout season in 2017, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t underpaid now.
Put simply, the Vikings are getting premium production at a bottom of the barrel price. Since signing his current deal, Thielen has racked up 204 receptions for 2,649 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 295 targets over those two seasons is tied for sixth-most in the league during that span.
When juxtaposed with Diggs’ statistics over that same span, Thielen comes out far ahead. Diggs has 166 receptions for 1,870 yards and 17 touchdowns since 2017, and while those numbers may be impressive, it’s clear Thielen remains the No. 1 target.
Next season, Thielen is scheduled to earn a base salary of $5.8 million. His two remaining years on his deal carry a total cap hit of $14.85 million, which pales in comparison to other top wideouts. Thielen may eventually want an extension before the end of his current deal, but the Vikings simply don’t have the cap space to maneuver much.
Minnesota currently has $5.7 million in cap space, which ranks 30th in the NFL. The league average stands at $36.5 million. With several key decisions in regards to re-signing upcoming free agents (i.e. Anthony Barr, Trae Waynes, Sheldon Richardson, and more), it looks like Thielen probably won’t attract a new offer.
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By the end of his current contract in 2021, Thielen will be 31-years-old, an age which usually draws concern for a decline in production. The reality is that he’s been underpaid for two years running, and he will have undoubtedly out-performed his NFL earnings by the time he becomes a free agent again. Thielen may never get the lucrative contract that many elite receivers garner.