Vikings Restructure Eric Kendricks' Deal to Make Room For Dalvin Cook Contract

This isn't a pay cut, the Vikings are just converting some base salary into signing bonus for Kendricks.

The Vikings are restructuring linebacker Eric Kendricks' contract in order to create salary cap space for Dalvin Cook's new deal, according to Adam Schefter.

To help make room for Dalvin Cook’s new contract, the Vikings restructured the deal of LB Eric Kendricks, shifting $6 million in base salary to signing bonus to help spread out the cost, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2020

It's important to note that the word "restructure" here doesn't mean that Kendricks is getting less than he's owed. That word was used to describe the pay cut taken by left tackle Riley Reiff a couple weeks ago, but that was an entirely different situation. That was an underperforming player (at least relative to his contract) with no guaranteed money left on his deal who accepted a pay cut in order to avoid being released.

With Kendricks, the Vikings are simply converting $6 million in base salary into signing bonus money, a common tactic that allows teams to spread money across several years and lower the cap impact for the current season. Kendricks is a star player who the Vikings wouldn't ask to take any sort of pay cut. Still, it's an unselfish move by him to delay some of his earnings in order to accommodate an extension for an important teammate.

This is actually the second time Kendricks' contract has been slightly changed to create salary cap space. Last year, the Vikings did it to get first-round pick Garrett Bradbury under contract.

Vikings cap guru Rob Brzezinski has become a household name in Minnesota because of his ability to always make things work for a salary cap perspective, especially with moves like this one. Led by GM Rick Spielman, Brzezinski, and George Paton, the Vikings have one of the savviest front offices in the NFL.

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