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Rookies for the Minnesota Vikings will be making their way to Eagan in about a week and a half. While most of the team’s 2018 draft class was signed not long after they were drafted, the crown jewel of the group is one of numerous first-round picks that still has not put pen to paper.
Mike Hughes, the cornerback that the Vikings selected with the 30th overall pick this past April, is one of thirteen first-round picks that, as of today, are still unsigned. The other seven players that the Vikings drafted had all signed their rookie deals in the first week of May, but for some reason Hughes has not yet done the same.
Hughes’ contract, like the contracts of every draft pick since the new CBA came into effect, has largely already has his salary set for him for his first contract. According to the folks from Over the Cap, Hughes will be signing a four-year deal with a value of around $9.86 million for being the 30th overall pick.
Hughes’ deal won’t put much of a dent into the Vikings’ cap space. As of now, the team has $14,322,176 in cap space, and Over the Cap’s contract numbers have Hughes counting for $1,794,088 in his first year. Given that one of the team’s lower salaries will drop out of the “Top 51” count when Hughes signs, that should leave the Vikings with about $13 million in salary cap space.
From the transaction tracker that NFL.com has for this, six of the top eight picks have not yet signed their initial deals, and only two of the final nine picks of Round 1 have signed thus far.
I’m pretty certain that we don’t have to worry about Hughes signing his contract or that he’s going to be holding out or anything. Again, his salary has already been largely determined for the first four seasons of his NFL career. But, hopefully, he will be signing it sooner rather than later.