The Minnesota Vikings are set to keep wide receiver Jordan Addison in purple a little longer, with the team planning to pick up his fifth-year option and retain the former first-round pick for an additional season. The move gives Minnesota extra time to sort out whether Addison is a long-term cornerstone or a near-term asset while hanging on to contractual leverage.
Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski told reporters the organization intends to exercise Addison’s option, according to KARE 11. For a 2023 first-round receiver like Addison, the fifth-year price tag is projected at roughly $18 million, per Over The Cap, and the figure becomes fully guaranteed once Minnesota officially picks it up.
On the field, Addison has stacked up 175 receptions for 2,396 receiving yards and 22 receiving touchdowns through his first three NFL seasons, according to Pro-Football-Reference. He showed big-play juice last season too, ripping off a 65-yard rushing touchdown against the Detroit Lions.
Off-field incidents and recent legal developments
Addison was detained at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa on Jan. 12 on a misdemeanor trespassing allegation. Prosecutors filed a termination of prosecution a week later, as reported by the AP. That episode came on the heels of a 2024 DUI-related arrest near Los Angeles and a July 2023 speeding citation in St. Paul, issues that factored into a three-game NFL suspension he served to open the 2025 season.
Why Minnesota pulled the trigger
For the Vikings, picking up the option is a classic “buy yourself time” play. It lets the front office see whether Addison solidifies himself as a long-term pillar or becomes a trade chip, all while keeping him on a rookie-contract framework at a premium position. The team faces a firm early May deadline each offseason to make these calls, a timeline the club has highlighted in its offseason mailbag on Vikings.com.
Contract mechanics and consequences
Under the CBA, the fifth-year option becomes fully guaranteed the moment it is exercised, which is why teams tread carefully before signing off on that number. Over The Cap places Addison’s option in the playtime/projection tier and notes that once the Vikings pick it up, the entire amount is locked in for that option year.
Exercising the option does not automatically signal that a long-term contract is around the corner, since front offices routinely pick up options and keep negotiating. Still, it lines up both sides for talks in the coming months. Sports Illustrated has outlined scenarios in which, if Addison pairs strong production with steadier off-field behavior, a multiyear extension could creep toward the $30 million-per-year range.
