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Rick Spielman, Vikings Finalize Multi-Year Contract Extension
August 3, 2020
The Minnesota Vikings confirmed Monday that they and general manager Rick Spielman have finalized a multi-year contract extension.
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network and Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press first reported the two sides were working toward an agreement on Sunday.
"They've had success. They've got some type of continuity going and I think it was important to get both of those guys [Spielman and Mike Zimmer] done," Spielman's brother, former NFL player and current Fox NFL analyst Chris Spielman, told Tomasson.
Spielman, 57, has served as the team's general manager since 2012.
In 2014 he was also named Minnesota's executive vice president. He served as the team's vice president of player personnel from 2006-11, essentially functioning as the general manager without formally holding the title (before then, the Vikings hadn't named an official general manager since the 1980s).
In his time with the Vikings, the team has gone 117-105-2 and reached the postseason six times, including three times in the past five years. Since Zimmer was hired as head coach in 2014, the team has gone 57-38-1. Zimmer recently signed a three-year extension that will keep him in Minnesota through the 2023 season.
Tomasson reported that Spielman's extension is expected to run through the 2023 campaign, as well.
Spielman's offseason has been defined by the decision to get younger, making 15 picks in this year's NFL draft while cutting ties with veterans and former Pro Bowlers Xavier Rhodes, Linval Joseph and Everson Griffen (the latter remains a free agent).
He also traded star receiver Stefon Diggs and a 2020 seventh-round pick to the Buffalo Bills for three 2020 selections (a first-rounder, fifth-rounder and sixth-rounder) and a 2021 fourth-round pick.
"The name of the game is managing the cap and trying to keep your core group of players together," Chris Spielman told Tomasson. "I think the Vikings as a whole in collaboration, I think they work well together as a team from coaches to the administration side as far as the scouting side. Everybody's on the same page, so hopefully what they lose, [younger] guys can come in and either play at that level or be better."