When the Minnesota Vikings got the news that safety Harrison Smith was set to return for the 2026 season, it was both a surprise and something we all expected to happen, as he decided to play his 15th season with the franchise.

Where the intrigue with bringing back Smith came in was rooted in the contract he was set to sign. It was valued as high as $16.25 million, which feels like a lot for a player at his stage in year 15. The real key was going to be how it was structured, and, of course, Rob Brzezinski nailed that.

Harrison Smith’s contract has unique feature

We knew that Smith’s contract had $8 million in bonuses available to him: $4 million in per game roster bonuses and $4 million rooted in postseason success. The real trick here is based on how the money would be structured, since the majority of it was likely to be earned after Smith played in 15 games last season.

The contract details were revealed on Thursday and it’s official: Brzezinski did it again to maximize the 2026 season.

• $1.3 million in base salary
• $6.95 million signing bonus
• $3.5 million of per game roster bonuses treated as a signing bonus
• $3.39 million salary cap hit
• $8,383.530 in dead salary cap next season

A one-year deal that inexpensive on the salary cap this season is great for this year, but it does put a hindrance on next season at over 2% in dead cap next season. His addition leaves the Vikings with $6.29 million in salary cap space this season, meaning they may not have to maneuver with a restructure to get the cap in a good place.

That’s a win for the Vikings, and the better Smith plays, the better the contract looks.

Grade: B+