A June report from Michael Silver of The Athletic indicated the Vikings didn’t make a multiyear offer to quarterback Sam Darnold, who parlayed a surprising run as Minnesota’s starting signal-caller in 2024 right into a three-year, $100.5MM free agent contract with the Seahawks this offseason. Because the ‘Hawks and Vikes prepare to face one another on Sunday, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network (video link) provides some additional context.
Based on Pelissero, the Vikings did, in actual fact, make a proposal very much like the one the Seahawks made. Pelissero acknowledges that the offer only contained a one-year commitment, however the contract Seattle authorized for Darnold also features a “pay-as-you-go” structure. Indeed, the one guaranteed compensation for future years that Darnold presently enjoys is a $17.5MM injury guarantee, which doesn’t convert to a full guarantee until after Super Bowl LX.
So, depending on how one plays with semantics, Silver’s and Pelissero’s respective reports usually are not necessarily contradictory; in any case, neither Seattle nor Minnesota made Darnold a proposal that tethered them to the USC product beyond 2025, even when their respective proposals were multiyear commitments on paper. Pelissero says the one reason the Vikings didn’t increase their offer was not due to Darnold’s disappointing end to the 2024 campaign, but due to their faith in J.J. McCarthy (although the team could also be regretting that call in the intervening time).
From Darnold’s perspective, with money being kind of equal, the Seahawks were a more logical destination, since McCarthy’s presence and standing as a 2024 first-rounder represented more of a threat than anyone Seattle had on its depth chart on the time. The ‘Hawks did add Jalen Milroe within the third round of the 2025 draft, but he was at all times viewed as a player who would take a while to develop.
Despite a nightmarish, four-interception outing in a narrow loss to the Rams in Week 11, Darnold largely has justified his contract and appears to be in line to unlock his 2026 payout. Seattle boasts an 8-3 record, and Darnold presently sits fourth when it comes to traditional quarterback rating (106.2) and sixth in QBR (69.4).