Greenway Resigning Among Other Items Offers Yet Another Glimpse of Lack of Transparency on Stadium Issue

If you think that the Vikings' extension of Chad Greenway is primarily about winning football games and appeasing fan sentiment to retain the second best linebacker on the team, think again. Greenway's five-year, $40 million deal includes $20 million in guarantees. Prior to negotiating the extension with Greenway, the Vikings were on the hook for $10 million for Greenway's franchise year. That meant that the Vikings had to count $10 million against this year's salary cap of $120 million--a hefty percentage of the payroll for an outside linebacker.The new deal, depending on how the Vikings structured Greenway's bonus, means that the Vikings are on the hook for a minimum of $8 million against this year's cap and a maximum of $25 million--if the Vikings designated 100% of Greenway's bonus a "roster bonus." Because the Vikings were approximately $12 million under the cap prior to Greenway's extension--a figure that does not take into account...