The Minnesota Vikings announce they have signed General Manager Rick Spielman to a multi-year contract extension.
“Rick has been outstanding in his role as Vikings general manager. We are excited and honored to have him continue to lead our efforts to build a championship roster and first-class organization. With Rick’s and Coach Zimmer’s leadership in place, we are in a great position to continue to compete for a Super Bowl,” Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf said.
Spielman originally joined the Vikings as Vice President of Player Personnel on May 30, 2006, and directed scouting, free agency and draft preparations for the club before being hired as team’s general manager on Jan. 3, 2012. Since taking over as general manager, the Vikings rank ninth in the NFL with a .570 winning percentage (72-54-2), which is fourth-best in the NFC over that eight-season span.
Throughout his tenure as general manager, Minnesota has drafted impact players and made key trades and free agency acquisitions that have resulted in 16 players earning 29 Pro Bowl recognitions, with five of those players also being tabbed All-Pro. Since 2012, Spielman has made more draft picks (93) than any other general manager in the National Football League. Of those picks, 56 are the result of trades and 13 have been first-round selections.
In addition to his success during the NFL Draft, Spielman has excelled at acquiring free agents, highlighted by quarterback Kirk Cousins, who signed with the club on March 15, 2018. In his two seasons in Minnesota, Cousins, who was named the Pro Bowl following the 2019 season, has posted a 103.0 passer rating, trailing only Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (110.0) for the highest passer rating in the NFL among all passers with at least 1,000 attempts since the start of 2018.
“We appreciate Rick’s work ethic, diligence and commitment to the Vikings. We continue to have the utmost confidence in him as we work to assemble championship-caliber teams to reach our ultimate goal of winning a world championship.” Vikings Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf said.
During the 2020 NFL Draft, Spielman turned 12 picks into a seven-round NFL-record 15 selections with two additional picks gained for the 2021 NFL Draft through trades. The Vikings 2020 class is the largest since the NFL condensed its annual draft to seven rounds in 1994. It also marked Minnesota’s first 15-member class since 1985, tying for the largest-overall draft class since 1976, when the team added 17 players over 17 rounds.
(info courtesy of Vikings)