The Minnesota Vikings had some salary cap issues going into the 2024 seaosn. After an offseason where the salary cap looked to be in a healthy spot, it dwindled to less than $1 million. That has been remedied for the time being, as the Vikings have reportedly restructured tight end T.J. Hockenson's contract.
The move is a simple way to adjust the salary cap number for the 2024 season. All the Vikings can do is take a portion of the base salary due to the player and turn it into a signing bonus. That spreads the salary cap across the remainder of his contract, up to four years into the future.
T.J. Hockenson saves Vikings nearly $7 million
Hockenson's base salary this season is $9.9 million which means they could take around $8.7 million of his salary and turn it into a signing bonus. That would free up $6.96 million in cap space for the 2024 season. Anything leftover would roll over to the next season.
There isn't anything official as of yet, but he does have three years remaining after this season plus a void year in 2028. That would add a paltry $1.74 million to the salary cap over the next four seasons.
What could be coming for the Vikings with this move? It's likely that they decided to make this move so they have flexibility with in-season moves over the next few months. It's pretty normal to see teams make these moves with players they expect to keep long-term, which Hockenson is.
Players like Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Harrison Phillips and Byron Murphy Jr. could all potentially be extended a little bit easier due to the restructure of Hockenson. The Vikings signed Metellus to an extension last September and just modified his contract, potentially signaling that a new deal is coming.
We will find out in time, but it's an intriguing move by the Vikings.
