Minnesota Vikings Restructure New/Old WR Contract

It took some legwork but the Minnesota Vikings rescued Adam Thielen from the Carolina Panthers. They allowed him to walk in 2022, not wanting to pay the freight for an aging wide receiver. Fast forward to today, and they’d like to keep the 35-year-old around a bit longer.

Thielen restructured his contract with the Panthers in March. The three-year, $25 million deal saw money moved around to change his cap hit for the upcoming season. Now a member of the MN Vikings, and not looking to leave the sides went to work again.

New contract structure for Adam Thielen

The Minnesota Vikings had to work within the structure that the Carolina Panthers dictated. Ultimately, they could have continued to use the veteran wideout as Bryce Young grows. Pushing them to make the deal involved multiple factors, one of which was a restructuring for Thielen. The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling highlighted what that looks like this week at the State Fair.

“Adam Thielen, to my understanding, ended up restructuring his contract. I don’t know the specifics exactly yet, but he took a little bit of a reduction from that $7 million cap number that he had in Carolina to help the Vikings a little bit with their cap.”

Ben Goessling – Star Tribune

While Goessling wasn’t sure what the exact numbers look like, Tom Pelissero provided some clarity. He carries a $4.6 million dead cap hit next season in a void year as an unrestricted free agent.

The #Vikings and WR Adam Thielen have agreed to terms on a revised contract, reducing his salary by $2 million and removing $4M in incentives, per sources.

This wasn’t about money — Thielen wanted to come home, and volunteered to help the team’s salary cap to make it happen. pic.twitter.com/RHok55X89R

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 30, 2025

All in all though, Thielen didn’t come home to leave again. The expectation should be that he’ll go from the Vikings active roster right into the Ring of Honor.

At 35, it’s anyone’s guess as to how many more seasons he will be able to play. That will be dictated by both his performance and health. If Thielen can uphold a strong bar for the third wide receiver position this year, then bringing him back in 2026 with Jalen Nailor hitting free agency is pretty much a non question.

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Ideally the Vikings could roster Thielen through 2026, at which point Jordan Addison would also hit free agency for the first time. Thielen would then be entering his age-37 season, and likely looking closely at hanging up the cleats.

We’ll see how the sides continue to work things financially. For now, the fan-favorite is locked in as one of the top options for young quarterback J.J. McCarthy this season. Minnesota kicks off their season on September 8 against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.