The Minnesota Vikings will face a major decision this offseason when it comes to Sam Darnold and the franchise’s future at the quarterback position.
Darnold is coming off a 347-yard, 5-touchdown performance against the Atlanta Falcons, which arguably has elevated him back into the thick of the NFL MVP conversation.
The QB now has 3,299 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the season, while the Vikings are 11-2 and tied for second place in the NFC just one game behind the NFC North Division-leading Detroit Lions.
But Minnesota also drafted rookie J.J. McCarthy with the 10th-overall pick in April and signed New York Giants cast off Daniel Jones to a contract through the end of this year — both of which provide existential threats to Darnold’s future with the team.
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The biggest obstacle, though, is likely still going to be Darnold’s market value when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in March of next year. The Vikings inked Darnold to a one-year contract worth $10 million, though some projections have the quarterback commanding between $30-$40 million annually as the top free agent in a weak class.
Asking the Vikings to spend $40 million for one more season of Darnold is one thing, but committing that much over three or four consecutive years is another given that the QB has only really performed like that type of player this season under head coach Kevin O’Connell.
But then there is the franchise tag.
That term is a dirty one to professional footballers, as it is almost exclusively used on elite-level talents who are on the cusp of signing the biggest contracts of their careers. And while most teams employ the tag to rookies coming off of their fourth or fifth years in the league, it can also be used to keep a late-blooming talent like Darnold tethered to a team for an extra season against his will.
Spotrac projects that Darnold will sign a four-year contract worth approximately $34.4 million annually, or roughly $137.5 million over the life of the deal. The franchise tag would tip the scales of a one-year deal for Darnold from the Vikings to over $40 million.
While pricey, it would allow Minnesota to keep Darnold in-house until the franchise gets a better sense of the player it has in McCarthy. Come 2026, the team could either sign Darnold, currently 27 years old, to a long-term deal or cut him loose and then transition to McCarthy as the starter, using the extra money to improve the roster in other areas.
