Minnesota Vikings use brilliant structure with Harrison Phillips' contract extension

The Minnesota Vikings made the rare contract extension on Tuesday by signing defensive tackle Harrison Phillips to a two-year extension keeping him in purple and gold through the 2026 season. Considering the defensive tackle room was primed just to be the three rookies currently on the roster, the Vikings getting this done was very important.

The key would be the contract structure with Phillips' $19.5 million deal. He had a 2024 salary cap hit of nearly $9 million and the Vikings could use a little extra in-season flexibility.

Minnesota Vikings contract structure with Harrison Phillips

The contract is essentially $15 million in new money when you factor in the 2024 salary.

• Signing bonus: $5.03 million
• 2024: $1.426 million base fully guaranteed, $5,480,553 cap hit
• 2025: $7 million base ($4.175 million guaranteed), $100k workout bonus, $400k per game roster bonus, $9,176,389 cap hit
• 2026: $6.89 million base, $510k per game roster bonus, $100k workout bonus, $9,176,389 cap hit

The structure here gives the Vikings flexibility if things don't go well in 2025. They would incur a dead cap hit of $1,676,389 and save $7.5 million if they move on after the 2025 season.

It's also good for Phillips who now gets an extra year essentially guaranteed. The Vikings can certainly use Phillips, who was tremendous on the defensive line in their week one win over the New York Giants.

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