MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings' trade for Sam Bradford adds a market-rate contract for a starting NFL quarterback to a club that's been mostly shielded from high-dollar QB contracts since Brett Favre left town.
The Vikings' small quarterback bills have been a side effect of not having an established veteran passer since then, but after the Vikings acquired Bradford to step in for the injured Teddy Bridgewater on Saturday, they officially exited the realm of cheap quarterback contracts for the foreseeable future.
The Vikings still retain some financial flexibility for 2017, even as the sudden need to acquire an established quarterback put them in something of a bind. Bradford's 2017 base salary of $13 million currently includes $4 million of full guarantees, as well as a $4 million roster bonus payable on the fifth day of the league year. That works out to a $17 million cap figure for the Vikings, but the $4 million guarantee has offset language that would reduce the Vikings' burden if they decided to release Bradford and he signed with another team. That seems unlikely, given the possibility of Bridgewater's recovery bumping up against the start of the 2017 season, but the Vikings aren't bound to Bradford for 2017 yet.
Should Bradford be in Minnesota for 2017, though, it would signal the onset of the time when the Vikings are paying their passers more than they're paying Adrian Peterson. That date wasn't previously scheduled to arrive during the life of Peterson's current deal with the Vikings, given the fact Bridgewater carries a scant cap number of $2.18 million in 2017. But if both Bradford and Bridgewater are on the roster, the Vikings' cap commitment at quarterback jumps to $19.18 million. And taking into account Peterson's $18 million cap figure, the Vikings would have a combined $35 million wrapped up in a 32-year-old running back and a quarterback who might not start if Bridgewater makes a full recovery.
The timing of Bridgewater's injury means the Vikings almost have to go into 2017 assuming Bradford will be on their roster, and it strains credulity to assume Bridgewater will be healthy enough, soon enough, to keep the Vikings from having to pay Bradford's $4 million roster bonus the same week they'll need to make a decision on Peterson's $6 million roster bonus.
If the terms of Peterson's restructured contract pointed toward the Vikings having to reopen the running back's deal before the 2017 season, the presence of Bradford's contract on the roster makes it even more likely the Vikings will have to rework at least one high-dollar deal before the start of next season. No other team is scheduled to have more than $28.41 million committed to its quarterback and running back in 2017, and the Vikings currently have a total of $142.26 million in cap commitments for 2017 (counting Bradford's deal). Even if the cap jumps again next year, the biggest financial effect of the Bradford trade might be the end of the days where the Vikings can have the league's highest-paid running back with few financial consequences.
The Vikings will likely pick up Bridgewater's fifth-year option next May, at a price of more than $12 million. Absent them pressing the red button and starting over at QB in the next year or so, the Vikings are likely done living with market-controlled quarterback costs for the near future. That's a fact of life for most teams in the NFL, and the Vikings' hope for Bridgwater's development meant they would have gotten there eventually. The most fascinating financial aspect of what happened Saturday, though, is the fact it expedited the arrival of the day when the Vikings have to figure out if they can afford both a market-rate quarterback deal and the NFL's largest running back deal.