At the start of this year, Sam Darnold seemed destined for a career-defining pay rise .

The 27-year-old quarterback had just led the Minnesota Vikings into the postseason, secured Pro Bowl honors for the first time in his career, and was one game away from securing the NFC’s No. 1 seed. It marked a superb turnaround for an almost forgotten player who spent the 2023 campaign as Brock Purdy’s backup in San Francisco.

There was even talk of Darnold surpassing Baker Mayfield’s $33.3 million per year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Yet that has looked increasingly unlikely since that fateful game between Minnesota and the Detroit Lions on January 5.

Heading into that Week 18 clash, the Vikings and Lions shared a 14-2 record. The winner of the game would be awarded the No. 1 seed in their conference and a bye to the Divisional Round, with the loser taking the No. 5 seed as the NFC North’s runner up.

Detroit went on to win 31-9, with Darnold failing to score a touchdown. That forced the Vikings to play a road game against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card round, one which they lost 27-9 to bring a memorable season to an abrupt halt. Darnold had arguably his worst Vikings game against the Rams, suffering nine sacks. No quarterback has been brought down more in a playoff clash.

These two games have cast doubt over Darnold’s next contract in the NFL. Back in December, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe predicted that Darnold would receive a contract worth somewhere between Kirk Cousins’ $180 million, four-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons and Mayfield’s $100 million, three-year agreement with the Bucs.

The Mayfield comparisons haven’t stopped there. Like Darnold, Tampa Bay’s quarterback was written off by many pundits within the NFL after reaching the postseason just once during his four years with the Cleveland Browns. Let’s also not forget that Darnold and Mayfield were teammates at the Carolina Panthers during the 2022 season.

The Bucs took a chance on Mayfield in March 2023 by giving him a one-year, $4 million contract with a signing bonus of $2.87 million. After the gamble paid off with Tampa Bay reaching the playoffs, Mayfield was awarded a lucrative contract to stay in Florida.

Darnold, who started his career with three underwhelming seasons as a New York Jet, has enjoyed a similar revival with the Vikings. But unlike Mayfield’s debut season in Tampa Bay, he’s ended this campaign on a sour note with two disappointing defeats.

Darnold’s 2024 season will still be judged as success, but his revival isn’t quite the same as Mayfield’s. And as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman pointed out during the defeat to Los Angeles, the Vikings quarterback has knocked millions off his next contract.

Buck said: “Not to be simplistic about it, but with the way the Vikings have played – and how Sam Darnold has played – over the last couple of weeks, he’s at least cost himself some money.” Aikman added: “No doubt.”

The Vikings now find themselves under less pressure to give Darnold an eye-watering contract. They’ve also got J.J. McCarthy, Michigan’s national championship-winning quarterback, coming back to full health after missing the 2024 season through injury.

There’s still a good chance Darnold will remain in Minnesota and compete with McCarthy. He may also receive a decent contract offer from elsewhere. Yet it’s hard to believe Darnold will be paid more than Mayfield in Tampa Bay – and the Viking will know that.