Is Kyle Rudolph’s Extension with Vikings Smart Business, or Too Much, Too Soon?

July 29, 2014   ·   Zach Kruse   ·   Jump to comments

The Minnesota Vikings awarding tight end Kyle Rudolph a $36.5 million extension—despite his lack of a 500-yard receiving season, a career reception average of just 9.7 yards per catch and the eight games he missed in 2013—may look like a classic case of giving up too much money to a player too soon. 
But the best contract designers in the NFL pay for future projection instead of past production, a reality that gives Minnesota's five-year extension for Rudolph a legitimate chance to look like smart business down the line. 
According to Ben Goessling of ESPN, Rudolph's extension could be worth up to $40 million, based on incentives. It includes $19.4 million in guaranteed money, with $6.5 million coming in the form of a signing bonus, another $960,000 from a guaranteed base salary in 2014 and $12 million from injury-only guarantees. 
The baseline contract numbers put Rudolph directly into the upper tier of NFL tight ends. Rudolph's $7.3...

Read Complete Article at Bleacher Report - NFL
Article is property of BleacherReport.com