The Minnesota Vikings have signed 11 new free agents from various teams. As contract details emerge, there’s a trend of higher-end players receiving void years added to their contracts. As of today, this leaves the Vikings with almost $18M in effective cap space available, according to Over The Cap.

Vikings fans are familiar with dead cap, and void years can contribute to it. This year alone, after letting go of Kirk Cousins, Marcus Davenport, and Danielle Hunter, among others, the Vikings are paying close to $58M in dead cap. Cousins accounts for almost half of that total alone, with $28.5M counting against the Vikings this year.

Having that money when entering the free agent market would have been beneficial, so why did Kwesi Adofo-Mensah add more? Is there a strategy behind it?

An Introduction to Void Years
In his recent analysis, Luke Braun of Locked on Vikings delved into the innovative strategies being used in the world of player contracts. The focus of this analysis was Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s use of an interesting contractual aspect—void years. Void years are additional years appended onto a contract that, while having no actual value, help distribute the salary cap hit over a longer period. This strategic maneuver, while seemingly simple, provides a clever solution to managing financial resources more effectively.

The Economics of Void Years Explained
The beauty of this strategy lies in its economic logic. Consider a team that opts to pay all its money at once. In this scenario, the team might pay 12% of the cap. However, if the team decides to spread out the payment over three years, the burden reduces to just 9% of the cap. “Yes, this might seem like kicking the can down the road,” Luke wrote, but in this context, the road—i.e., future financial capacity—is wider, and “it can handle more cans.”

crudely drawn illustration of why void years are a good idea.

you care about the blue number – the % of available resources (i.e. the burden it has on the team)

Pay all the money at once, you'd pay 12% of cap.

Spread it out, over 3 years you've only paid 9% of cap pic.twitter.com/pbVIgZ0A28

— Luke Braun (temporary college basketball fan) (@LukeBraunNFL) March 24, 2024

The Inevitability of Payment: Paying the Piper
One might wonder, what happens when it’s time to pay up? The simple answer is that it will be easier to do so in the future. Unlike credit card debt, there are no looming deadlines or mounting interest to worry about. This strategy provides a team with the flexibility to manage its finances while effectively maintaining its player roster.

Risk Factors: Betting on the Future
Of course, as with any strategy, there are inherent risks. The most significant of these is the possibility of the cap going down, which could lead to severe penalties. However, barring another global economic catastrophe, it is likely that the NFL will continue to make record profits. As an American corporation, the NFL, like many others, is focused on profit-making. As long as the NFL doesn’t lose a considerable amount of money, leading to a shrinking cap, and as long as it doesn’t decide that “The Deadline Is Up And Everyone Must Pay” (which is unlikely), teams using this strategy are on a golden path.

Case Studies: Void Years in Action
To fully understand the impact of void years, it’s helpful to look at how Adofo-Mensah has applied this strategy to various player contracts. From TJ Hockenson’s 1 void year for $0 total to Aaron Jones’s 4 void years for $3.2M total and Sam Darnold’s 4 void years for $5M total, each contract shows a calculated approach to deferring payments and managing resources. These are not haphazard decisions but the result of careful planning and astute economic understanding.

Vikings Players with Void Years [per Over The Cap]:
• TJ Hockenson, 1 void year (’28(31 years old for the season)) for $0 total.

• Byron Murphy, 3 void years (’25(27)-’27(29)) for $4.2M total.

• Harrison Smith, 3 void years (’26(37)-’28(39)) for $9.5M total if he retires next year, and only $4.2M if he doesn’t.

• Josh Oliver, 2 void years (’26(29)-’27(30)) for $2.85M total.

• Garrett Bradbury, 2 void years (’26(31)-’27(32)) for $1.63M total.

• Jonathan Greenard, 2 void years (’28(31)-’29(32)) for only $3.3M total.

• Sam Darnold, 4 void years (’25(28)-’28(31)) for $5M total.

• Aaron Jones, 4 void years (’25(31)-’28(34)) for $3.2M total.

• Andrew Van Ginkel, 4 void years (’26(31)-’29(34)) for $4.2M total.

• Blake Cashman, 3 void years (’27(31)-’29(33)) for $3.1M total.

All these players total just under $37M between 2025 and 2028 if they move on. That is a lot less than this season’s total and spread out amongst 10 players and 4 years.

The Final Word: Embracing the Advantage
As Bradley Knorr on X aptly put it, “Using void years is like taking a loan out at negative interest. It’s a strategy that makes sense for an economics expert like Adofo-Mensah to maximize. Just like in the stock market, any little advantage can be leveraged for substantial gains.”

The use of void years is a strategic approach that’s here to stay. It’s an innovative way for NFL teams to manage their resources effectively while ensuring they’re able to attract and retain top talent. As long as the cap keeps going up and the NFL keeps making money, it is like spending future money for almost free. And as Braun’s analysis shows, it’s a strategy that’s yielding positive results, proving that sometimes, the best way forward is to plan for the void. Adofo-Mensah and this practice is here to stay.

Even Tyler and I touched on the subject:

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You can find Luke Braun @LukeBraunNFL of Locked On Vikings @lockedonvikings, and he does great work! Tyler Forness @TheRealForno of Vikings 1st & SKOL @Vikings1stSKOL and the Vikings Wire @TheVikingsWire and Dave Stefano @Luft_Krigare producing this Vikings 1st & SKOL production, on the @RealFornoShow. Podcasts partnered with Fans First Sports Network @FansFirstSN and Fans First Sports Network’s NFL feed @FFSN_NFL.