The Facts: Thielen signed a four-year, $19.2 million contract before last season and then led the Vikings with 91 catches for 1,276 yards during the regular season. Stefon Diggs finished second on the team in both of those categories and just signed a five-year, $72 million extension that gives him an average annual salary that tops Thielen’s by nearly $10 million a year. That’s led to musing about whether Thielen will make his case for a raise. Thielen didn’t say whether that was in the cards because it’s not on his mind. He said his agent “takes care of that stuff so I don’t have to worry about it.”
Diehards Line:“When I signed my contract before last season, that’s why I did it, because I didn’t want to have to worry about it,” Thielen explained. “I wanted to just go out and play football, and it allowed me to do that. I want to continue to do that, just play football, focus on the things I can control, and let the other people take care of that.” Thielen does allow that “people are probably starting to realize that I’m a little better than they thought I was” and the delay in that realization makes him one of the bigger bargains in the league at the moment. But from a fantasy perspective, Thielen is still going ahead of Diggs based on current ADP.