Adam Thielen agrees to four-year, $64 million extension with Vikings
One of the Minnesota Vikings’ greatest success stories is staying with his hometown team.
Vikings receiver Adam Thielen has agreed to a four-year, $64 million extension with the team, his agency announced through Instagram on Friday. The deal is reportedly worth a maximum of $73 million and contains $35 million in guaranteed money, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The Vikings confirmed the news.
Thielen was previously set to enter the third season of a four-year, $19.2 million contract, so this will represent a significant pay increase for the 28-year-old.
At least one of Thielen’s teammates was happy for him, as Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins congratulated the wideout on Twitter. Unfortunately, he might have confused some numbers along the way.
I’ll sleep great tonight knowing Adam is back for the next 6 seasons. Congrats @athielen19, happy for you...see you Monday!
— Kirk Cousins (@KirkCousins8) April 12, 2019
Between Cousins, Thielen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the Vikings now have the top three figures in their passing game under contract for the next two years with a total annual salary of $58.4 million.
How Adam Thielen earned his pay day
In the past two seasons, Thielen has posted 2,649 receiving yards, sixth most in the NFL. He’s also one of only five wide receivers with 200 receptions in that span. That production earned him consecutive Pro Bowl honors.
It is very safe to say that no one saw this kind of production happening with Thielen when he came out of college at Division II Minnesota State Mankato or even early in his career.
Thielen, a native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent after not receiving an invitation to the NFL scouting combine. He spent the first two years of his career playing mostly on special teams, then broke out in 2016 with a 967-yard, five-touchdown campaign.
Now, Thielen will spend the next four years playing for the only NFL team he has ever known as a player and the team he grew up cheering for.
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