The Minnesota Vikings are set to kick off mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, and there is one big storyline that hasn’t been talked about nearly enough: an extension for right tackle Brian O’Neill.

He has been mostly sitting off to the side during OTAs, which are voluntary, but will be taking the field this week.

Brian O'Neill turns 31 in September. Everyone in the building wants him to remain with the Vikings, but a contract befitting his stature is complicated and is really a decision that needs to be made by a permanent general manager. Over to you, Nolan Teasley. https://t.co/z1elXYDx3K

— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) June 9, 2026

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise for the Vikings to be interested in an extension for O’Neill, but, as Kevin Seifert mentioned, it’s not simple.

Brian O’Neill extension comes into focus

It’s really important to understand the complexities of a possible extension for O’Neill. He is set to turn 31 years old this September and is entering the final year of a five-year, $92.5 million contract he signed ahead of the 2021 season. Being that he’s set to become a free agent after the season, it makes signing him more of a priority timewise than wide receiver Jordan Addison.

There needs to be some details taken into consideration. O’Neill’s age likely means that the contract won’t be longer than three years. That will be a factor here, as well as identifying where he slots in compared to the market. Right now, O’Neill is the 23rd-highest paid offensive tackle in the NFL per average annual value.

How the Vikings approach this will be key, as O’Neill is certainly better than the No. 23 tackle in the NFL. As far as right tackles only go, O’Neill is arguably No. 3 behind Penei Sewell (who is likely moving to LT) and Lane Johnson. Tytus Howard now has an average annual value of $22.5 million, which means that O’Neill should theoretically slot between them.

After news broke that the Vikings had an extension budgeted for O’Neill, we broke down what that extension should look like, netting O’Neill $72 million over three years.

Year	Base Salary	Prorated Signing Bonus	Per Game Roster Bonus	Workout Bonus	Guaranteed Salary	Cap Number
2026	$1,300,000	$7,703,892	$0	$	$1,300,000	$8,003,892
2027	$14,400,000	$4,000,000	$500,000	$100,000	$15,000,000	$19,000,000
2028	$26,400,000	$4,000,000	$500,000	$100,000	$11,700,000	$31,000,000
2029	$26,400,000	$4,000,000	$500,000	$100,000	$0	$31,000,000
2030	Void	$4,000,000	Void	Void	Void	$4,000,000
2031	Void	$0	Void	Void	Void	$0
2032	Void	$0	Void	Void	Void	$0
Total	$68,500,000	$23,703,892	$1,500,000	$300,000	$28,000,000	$93,003,892

Will the new general manager, Nolan Teasley, want to give O’Neill that kind of contract? It’s going to be an interesting discussion point for the next few weeks. All eyes will be on whether this gets done.

Plus, it could save the Vikings upward of $15 million in salary cap space this season.