Do the Vikings have financial capability to sign CB Jalen Ramsey?

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Tyler Forness discusses the possibility of the Vikings signing current Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey and what strains that would place on Minnesota's salary cap

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00:00There's a lot of discussion about the Minnesota Vikings trading for Jalen Ramsey, but does

00:04it work financially?

00:05I got a full breakdown.

00:09The Minnesota Vikings trading for Jalen Ramsey is quite the interesting proposition.

00:13Yes, they have a need of cornerback.

00:15Yes, the Miami Dolphins are already going to trade him, but it's not always as simple

00:19as I want a cornerback and you have him.

00:22There are a lot of different factors to consider, one of them being compensation for the player.

00:27And that can be determined by a couple of different factors.

00:31And one of those factors is, will the team trading the player end up eating a little bit

00:36of extra salary?

00:37We saw the Vikings maneuver with Cam Robinson last year, and Cam Robinson only got $2 million

00:43from the Minnesota Vikings and the rest of his pro-rated contract.

00:46By around $7 million was eaten by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

00:49Now they got a fourth round pick out of the deal in the 2026 NFL draft because he played

00:55essentially every single snap.

00:57And that was the playing time incentive.

00:59So when you take a look at the Jalen Ramsey deal, how will that impact the compensation?

01:05Will the Dolphins be willing to eat some of the money that is due to him to ease the cap

01:10burden for a team like the Vikings?

01:11And that's where things get really interesting.

01:13So let's break down his contract.

01:15It's a relatively simple contract, but it's also incredibly complicated.

01:19And let me explain why his base salaries are relatively low in 2025.

01:24It's $1.255 million, $10 million in 26 and 27.

01:28And in 20, the final year of his deal, it is 21.135 million.

01:33But the majority of his money that will come to him is going to come via roster bonus or

01:39option bonus.

01:40Now, roster bonus is very simple.

01:42It is paid out in full in one time, and it only hits on one year of the salary cap.

01:47An option bonus is essentially a mid-contract signing bonus where you can spread out over

01:53five years.

01:54Now, 2029, 2030, and 2031 are already built-in void years.

01:59And because you have those built-in void years, you can spread out those three option bonuses

02:03that he is due over the course of those voids.

02:07And that's where things get really interesting.

02:09Ramsey is approaching the age of 30.

02:11Are you going to want to pay him big bucks at the end of that contract, which is essentially

02:15what this would be?

02:16Now, let's kind of take a look at some of the salary cap hits.

02:19It's very interesting.

02:20So in 2025, he has an option bonus of $18.98 million that is due on August 31st.

02:272026, he has an $8.135 million option bonus due on that same day.

02:322027, that option bonus is $8.835 million.

02:35So essentially, by the end of it, you're adding about $7.1 million for about three years

02:40of that deal just in bonus money that the Minnesota Vikings will be paying.

02:44Now, they won't inherit any of the initial signing bonus that the Dolphins paid him, which is

02:49a big part of this whole conversation.

02:51So the cap hits are interesting.

02:53Now, when you take a look at the cap hits versus what the Minnesota Vikings will have, that's

02:58where things also get a little interesting as well.

03:00So 2025, it is a salary cap hit of $9.916 million.

03:06And they can easily absorb that as their cap space right now is $23.54 million.

03:11Then along with Ramsey, you would have approximately $5 million to play with.

03:17And then you'd roll over about eight.

03:19And that's where that $8 million comes in.

03:20Because 2026, right now, they're projected negative $60.8 million per over the cap.

03:26And his salary cap hit is projected to be $18.288 million.

03:30That is with 59 players under contract.

03:32But a bunch of those are going to be gone because they are undrafted free agents that

03:37will not make the team.

03:39It would be negative $79.1 million with him on the roster.

03:43Now, you have that $10 million base salary.

03:45And you can maneuver with that.

03:47And you can save in the neighborhood of $7.5 to $8 million in cap space.

03:52And in 2027, right now, they have $41.8 million under the cap with 47 players under contract.

03:58But keep in mind, not all of those are going to stay with the Minnesota Vikings.

04:02And it will be $21.818 million in 2027.

04:05And projecting that far out with the information we have is about as far as we're willing to go.

04:102028 is a wild scenario because you're talking about that being a fifth-year option for J.J.

04:15McCarthy, T.J.

04:16Hawkinson will no longer be under contract.

04:192020 is Jefferson's final year.

04:21Those things all factor in.

04:23So what do you do if you're the Minnesota Vikings?

04:26Do you want to absorb that?

04:28And the answer is, well, you can.

04:30But is it going to be worth it down the line?

04:33Ramsey was a first-round pick, a top-five pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

04:37He is about to enter his ninth season in the league.

04:42So 2025 is going to be worth it at about $9 million.

04:452026, he's going to be probably worth it at about $18 million.

04:48But is he going to be worth it in the 20s?

04:51At 2027, when he's in his 30s now?

04:54And is it going to be worth it in 2028, when he's got a projected base salary and cap hit of $31 million?

05:03That's a lot to take on.

05:04And when you're the Minnesota Vikings, those are the things you have to consider.

05:07They can make it work.

05:08But is it worth it?

05:09We'll find out sooner or later.

05:11I'm Tyler Fornis with IDZ Sports.

05:13Let's go Vikings.

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