Purple Drank: Tuesday Open Thread

Yeah Right rejoice- the Vikings have made the obvious decision without (apparently) setting themselves on fire!

Justin Jefferson, who was set to make $19 million playing on the fifth-year team option of his rookie contract this year, agreed to another 4 years at $140 million, $110 million of which is notionally guaranteed. Spotrac has a deep dive into what is actually guaranteed for what, how much is payable when, etc. $88 million due at signing.

It’s kind of a weird deal for a team just starting the clock on their Rookie Quarterback Contract era. They reduced the cap hit this year, leaving a larger chunk for the years when JJ McFuckface would be in line for a huge extension.

I mean, we all expect him to flame out like his mentor Sam Darnold, but you gotta plan for success in the face of the evidence if you’re Minnesota.

As always when discussing Justin Jefferson, I like to reflect on how he made it to Minnesota in the first place: because the Bills fucked the pooch. Like Patrick Mahomes, Jefferson was selected with Buffalo’s pick- in this case, the primary cost of getting Stefon Diggs to the shores of Lake Erie. While Diggs was a great addition, and it wasn’t just the Eagles who massively misjudged Jefferson’s potential, I still like to indulge the vicious sting of imagining Mahomes throwing to Jefferson in Orchard Park.

Le Sigh…

NFL NEWS

-Also getting paaaaid again? Christian McCaffrey! Despite having two years left on his deal, the 49ers gave him two more years and a raise today, 2 years and $39ish million, for a revised total of 4 years, $62 million. Mostly this functioned to convert his next two years’ totally unguaranteed contract into two years very guaranteed, with a third likely if he can stay healthy and productive at 30. Steep for a running back? Sure. But he’s the Shohei Otani of Football (minus the stench of illegal gambling). He is basically an All-Pro running back AND a Top 10-15 tight end. Both San Francisco and McCaffrey should be happy about this deal.

-Probably less happy? McCaffrey’s teammate Brandon Aiyuk. Aiyuk, drafted three picks after Jefferson, has been adamant that he deserves a long-term deal and did not report to mini-camp. Not only has he seen other receivers get hella paid, his team is now doing unnecessary deals with McCaffrey instead of whipping out the checkbook for him going into a walk year. The Niners have over $30 million in cap room this year. Brock Purdy is going to be knocking on John Lynch’s door next year looking to upgrade his scheduled $1 million salary.

I am legitimately flummoxed by this situation. Unless Aiyuk is asking for truly stratospheric money, this deal needed to be done by the Niners a month ago, before the market reset. Kittle’s got a lot of mileage on him, Deebo’s projected career-span goes down by a game everytime Shanahan uses him to run the ball, and we’ve all developed collective amnesia about McCaffrey’s penchant for season-ending injuries. Aiyuk is the Reggie Wayne here, the guy who can keep your offense ticking while other stars (Edge, Marvin Harrison) are transitioning out. Pay him his money, Niners.

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:

Hope you like pointless hockey…documentaries. No NBA. No NHL. No baseball or WNBA on non-regional/specialty networks. Instead, ESPN will be show a retrospective on the 1994 New York Rangers. Upon slight research, this team involved both Mike Keenan and Mark Messier, which means they can fuck all the way off.