When the Minnesota Vikings drafted running back Jerick McKinnon in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft, they most likely thought they would have him signed to a contract by this point in the team's offseason activities.
However, per John Holler of VikingsUpdate.com, McKinnon is the only one of ten Vikings' picks not to have put his name on the dotted line.
"The problem the Vikings face is that Baltimore might be the fly in the ointment," writes Holler in an article posted on Saturday. "When agents look to sign contracts, they see what kind of a deal players around his client got."
As the 96th pick in the draft, McKinnon's agents are most likely looking at those immediately drafted before and after him to get a sense of how much he should command. Baltimore signed the 99th overall pick, tight end Crockett Gilmore, to a four-year, $2.907 million deal.
By nature, McKinnon might look to command more since he was drafted three spots ahead. However the 92nd pick (Carolina guard Trai Turner) and 95th pick (Denver OT Michael Schofield) each signed four-year deals for under $2.8 million - leaving McKinnon unsure as to where he stands in that scale.
"Contract negotiations, even those where the two sides are likely only about $100,000 apart over four years, can get sticky," Holler notes. "The bigger issue may be how much of the money is guaranteed, but, once again, the team and agent can’t be that far apart because many of the terms are already collectively bargained at each draft slot."
At the current moment, McKinnon has indicated that he isn't holding out. Yet, as with 11 other unsigned third round picks, it looks like McKinnon's agent is trying to figure out where the line is drawn financially for players in the middle of the draft before jumping on a finalized salary number.
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