Vikings owner Mark Wilf wants to get new deal with General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah done this offseason

PALM BEACH, FLA. — The Vikings remain in discussions with General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah about a contract extension, co-owner Mark Wilf said from the NFL owners’ meetings on Monday. Wilf said the team wants to complete a new deal with Adofo-Mensah this offseason.

“Kwesi is part of our football leadership,” Wilf said. “We feel great about the moves Kwesi’s made, along with coach [Kevin] O’Connell and [Executive Vice President of Football Operations] Rob [Brzezinski] in terms of our salary cap position, our draft position potential. We have all faith in Kwesi, and we’ve had very, very positive conversations. That’s something we’re going to continue to work toward this offseason.”

Wilf told the Minnesota Star Tribune in December that the Vikings planned to talk after the 2024 season about deals with both Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell, whose initial contracts expire after the 2025 season. On Jan. 21, eight days after the team’s playoff loss to the Rams, the Vikings agreed with O’Connell on an extension that runs through the 2029 season.

Sources said other teams were monitoring the status of O’Connell, the NFL’s 2024 Coach of the Year. Wilf said Monday that “market dynamics” were a catalyst for quick negotiations with O’Connell, while adding the Vikings want to secure their foundation with both the coach and the GM.

“We want to give long-term stability to our football leadership. And that’s why that happened,” Wilf said. “I mean, partly market dynamics, but again, we want to get Kevin and Kwesi done. We’re appreciative of Kevin and his family and what he’s meant for the Vikings, and same way for Kwesi.”

Adofo-Mensah said last week he doesn’t think regularly about the team’s negotiations with agent Jimmy Sexton, and the duration of his contract gives the Vikings a little more time than they had with O’Connell’s deal. While coaches’ contracts generally expire after the season, GM deals run until after the draft, to provide front office stability through the busiest part of the offseason. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Adofo-Mensah’s contract does not expire until after the 2026 NFL draft.

The Vikings have typically given the GM control of the roster, and Wilf said they’re unlikely to change their decisionmaking structure as part of contract negotiations. In their regular meetings with Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell, the Wilfs often lead with questions about process and alignment, making sure the team’s leaders agree on upcoming decisions.

“I think it’ll work very much the way we’ve been doing it,” he said. “And again, I can’t think of even one time where we haven’t been able to work through and develop a consensus.”

The Vikings will play two home preseason games in August, and they could host joint practices before both of them.

The team has talked with the Patriots about joint practices in the preseason, and could bring the Rams in for a scrimmage before a preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium. If the NFL approves the teams’ requests for the preseason schedule, the Vikings could host the Patriots during the second week of the preseason, before wrapping up the exhibition schedule against the Rams at home.

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel was with the Titans in 2023 when Tennessee came to Minnesota for two days of joint practices. Vrabel’s relationship with O’Connell sparked talks about a set of practices between Minnesota and New England this year.

“It’s a nice setup,” Vrabel said. “They have got a beautiful facility; there’s a hotel close by to walk to the field, and we enjoyed working with Kevin and [defensive coordinator Brian Flores] and their team.”

O’Connell’s friendship with Sean McVay sparked conversations about a practice at the end of training camp, where both teams could get some work for their starters before the final exhibition game. The setup could give quarterback J.J. McCarthy a chance to practice against the defense that sacked Sam Darnold nine times in the Rams’ wild-card playoff win against the Vikings in January, providing an early indicator of the Vikings’ offseason work to upgrade their pass protection unit around McCarthy.

The Lions proposed changing the NFL’s playoff seeding to prioritize regular-season records over division championships. Had the rule been in place during the 2024 season, the Vikings (who became the first 14-win wild card in NFL history) would have opened the playoffs at home against the Rams, instead of playing the 10-win NFC West champions on the road.

Even after their 2024 experience, though, Wilf said the Vikings are inclined to keep the rules the way they are.

“We’re going to wait and see during the meetings tomorrow to hear some of the rationale and the competition committee, how they evaluate it,” Wilf said. “I’d say right now we’re probably leaning to keep it to where it is. I think the ultimate platform is, you got to get out of your division to make sure you succeed long-term. And that’s worked well until now. But again, we’ll wait and see how the deliberations work out, and we’re open-minded to hear all sides.”

All proposed rule changes would require approval from 24 of the NFL’s 32 teams to pass.

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