Breakthrough Viking Earns Top 10 Performance Bonus

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Jalen Redmond, Minnesota Vikings
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

This offseason the Minnesota Vikings needed to clear more than $40 million from the 2026 books. After doing so, the Rob Brzezinski signed Kyler Murray and James Pierre, who currently represent the only free agents Minnesota has reeled in so far this offseason.

However, the Vikings have worked hard to retain many of their own players, whether by resigning, restructure or using one of many “tag” or “tender” options provided to each franchise every offseason.

One of the players they chose to tag was breakout defensive lineman, Jalen Redmond, who the Vikings placed an exclusive rights tender on before free agency began, setting his 2026 salary tentatively at $1.075 million.

Jalen Redmond gets a payday after MN Vikings breakthrough

However, he and the Minnesota Vikings are expected to work on a contract extension this summer. Meanwhile, he will also receive a nice little contract bonus worth $1.2 million, due to how well/often he played in 2025 and how little he was paid to do it.

The NFL’s Performance-Based Pay program is a collectively bargained benefit that will hand out nearly $550 million to players in 2025. The fund is a supplemental pool of money that is used to correct the compensation of players who played more and had bigger roles than what their original contract called for. This money does NOT count against the NFL salary cap.

Playing on just a $968,000 salary last season, Redmond’s production vaulted him near the top of the list. The 26-year-old played in all 17 games and drew 15 starts. After appearing in just 24% of defensive snaps in 2024, that number shot up to 74% last season.

Redmond had only a single sack as a rotational player in his first year with the Vikings. Last season, despite the additions of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen in the middle, he was the key interior piece. Redmond racked up six sacks and 62 tackles. He had 12 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits.

Minnesota moved on from both Hargrave and Allen this offseason, so they will be looking for Redmond to replicate his performance.

Minnesota Vikings former defender tops bonus list

It is worth noting that the player who raked in the largest bonus from 2025 was Nashon Wright. The MN Vikings acquired him from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Andrew Booth only to cut him with just a single game played.

Wright played in 17 games last season for the Chicago Bears, starting 16 of them. He had five interceptions, including a pick six against J.J. McCarthy in Week 1. Ultimately he wound up making the first Pro Bowl of his career.

For a MN Vikings team that just signed a cornerback this offseason, and struggled through playing Jeff Okudah all year, he’s definitely a guy they wish they would have kept around. He signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets this offseason.

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