The National Football League has announced the compensatory selections on Monday and the Minnesota Vikings received one: the 97th selection in the third round. The pick is in lieu of losing quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons in free agency.

Each year, the NFL releases 32 compensatory picks for teams that lose qualifying free agents. If there aren’t enough qualifying free agents, the NFL will award supplementary picks starting at the top of the first round and going backward. The other picks are third-round selections that are awarded when teams hire a minority candidate to be their head coach or general manager.

Vikings receive one compensatory pick

Adding the selection at 97th overall is huge for the Vikings, as it now brings their draft capital for the 2025 NFL Draft up to four draft picks. They had a chance to receive another third-round compensatory selection, but they chose to sign cornerback Shaquill Griffin instead.

The below chart from Over The Cap breaks down the Vikings’ eligible signings via the compensatory formula and they were close to getting it done.

The formula is both simple, yet complex. It’s based on a few factors:

Contracts are ranked via a Final Numerical Value based on the sum of points awarded as follows:

-An inverse ranking of the contract’s Average Per Year (APY)
-One point each for each percentage point of snaps played on offense or defense, with a minimum requirement of 25%. (Kickers and punters earn points based upon statistical performance.)
-20 or 5 points based upon being honored by the AP All Pro or PFWA On Field Awards lists.

The round for each contract is assigned on a percentile basis, as follows:

-3rd Round: top 5%
-4th Round: below top 5% to top 10%
-5th Round: below top 10% to top 15%
-6th Round: below top 15% to top 25%
-7th Round: below top 25% to top 35% (previously 50% in the 2011 CBA)

The Vikings could have ended up with one more pick if they had played the game a little better, but Griffin was a solid player for them all season.

As things stand, the Vikings improve their draft capital and can use this strategy next season