Escaping salary cap trouble is a true trick of the NFL trade

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New Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah worked eight years on Wall Street, in between economics degrees from Princeton and Stanford.

Yet he still found himself chasing a challenge, into the controlled-market financial arena of pro football roster building.

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The first offseason for Adofo-Mensah with the Vikings will be a tall task. They're facing a $45 million salary cap charge on the final year of quarterback Kirk Cousins' existing contract, and their current commitments project to be more than $15 million over the cap.

"There’s a little bit of art, and there’s a little bit of science. That’s what makes the puzzle fun," Adofo-Mensah said. "Honestly, that’s what drew me to this sport, and it’s why I think all of us love competing at the highest level."

The salary cap for 2022 is projected at $208.2 million per team, a $25.7 million spike from last year. The pandemic-related revenue drop during the empty-stadium season of 2020 triggered an unprecedented $15.7 million decrease for 2021. Contracts negotiated prior to COVID-19's descendance on the league were also calculated with the customary rise in mind.

While the overall landscape looks smoother this year than last year, success in the fall and winter will require creative and courageous decisions in the spring. Bigger cap increases are coming once the new media rights deals kick in for 2023, but that windfall won't help the Vikings now.

The same goes for the New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys and Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, the four other teams whose cap situations are the furthest in the red with