The Vikings have spent plenty of money already this offseason, most of it going to quarterback Kirk Cousins.
There’s more money to spend, with deals for more young stars on the horizon.
That had General Manager Rick Spielman laughing with attendees at the team’s charity golf tournament.
“Fifty percent of the proceeds today will go to the contracts of Anthony Barr, Stefon Diggs and Danielle Hunter,’’ Spielman joked, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Of course, the charitable arm of the team and the football side dip out of separate pots, but Spielman knows he’s about to have to write some big checks, and soon.
“It’s a good problem to have, but we have a very high-priced roster right now,’’ Spielman said. “And eventually some of those guys are going to get aged out, just like we had some of our other Pro Bowlers, . . . and you have to replace them.’’
They already have six players with cap numbers over $10 million a year, and two more topping $8 million. That’s going to cause them to adjust elsewhere on the roster.
“The hardest thing right now is the economic structure on our team where we have all these high-priced guys now because they all deserve to get paid the way they’ve been playing,’’ Spielman said. “But economically, we’re not going to go out there, you can’t play fantasy football and have $3 (million), $4 (million) or $5 million backup guys. Those are going to be the young guys that we’ve drafted or we’ve developed.’’
Spending big on Cousins was an all-in proposition for a team that was very good, and very close a year ago. But those economic realities Spielman mentioned will naturally shorten the window for a veteran team, and creates pressure to hit on draft picks so they have cost-controlled contributors on the roster as well.