The uniqueness of the deal Adam Thielen signed on Monday — a four-year, $64 million extension completed with two years remaining on the wide receiver's previous contract — owes plenty to the uniqueness of Thielen himself.
Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman all but admitted as much on Tuesday.
"I don't know if there has ever been a success story like Adam Thielen," Spielman said. "We were just talking; three weeks from this time of year, [after the draft in 2013], he was looking to try to get in to someone's camp. … The minute he walked on to that field at Winter Park, you could tell this guy had a chance to be something.