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Vikings, Thielen Agree To Four-Year Contract Extension
Adam Thielen's record-breaking season and career highs in catches (113), yards (1,373) and touchdowns (9) led many, including his representation, to believe he had outplayed his current contract. It turns out the Vikings agreed with that.

This after the two sides agreed to a four-year, $64 million extension with a max value of $73 million, his agency announced Friday. The Vikings also confirmed the two sides have agreed in principle on the multi-year extension.

The contract guarantees Thielen $35 million, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

At the start of last year's training camp, teammate Stefon Diggs inked a five-year deal worth $72 million with a $15 million signing bonus.

In terams of Thielen, the Vikings were getting premium production at a bottom of the barrel price. Since signing his current deal, Thielen had racked up 204 receptions for 2,649 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 295 targets over those two seasons is tied for sixth-most in the league during that span.

When juxtaposed with Diggs’ statistics over that same span, Thielen comes out far ahead. Diggs has 166 receptions for 1,870 yards and 17 touchdowns since 2017, and while those numbers may be impressive, it’s clear Thielen remains the No. 1 target -- in part becuase he's often used as a big slot receiver, a role that often creates mismatches against smaller slot defenders.

And that seems unlikely to change regardless of their respective contracts.