How much salary cap space and dead money will the Vikings have this year?

With the start of the new league year less than two months away, it's time to start thinking about free agency and what the Vikings could do this offseason. To get a good sense of their options, it's important to first take a look at how much salary cap space they're going to have and how dead money might play a role.

The Vikings currently have $39.6 million in cap space, according to Spotrac. However, Over the Cap has their effective cap space — which accounts for things like signing a rookie class — at just $20.7 million. There are various reasons why those figures are so far apart, but the number is somewhere in that range.

There are more than a few avenues for longtime cap guru Rob Brzezinski and the Vikings to create more space. Harrison Smith could retire or be released. There could be restructured deals for Brian O'Neill and T.J. Hockenson. Potential extensions for the likes of Justin Jefferson, Byron Murphy Jr., and Harrison Phillips could lower their 2024 cap hit, even in the case of Jefferson and what promises to be a record-setting new deal.

You're going to hear a lot about dead money this offseason. That term refers to salary cap charges for players who are no longer on the roster. The Vikings have used a cap tool called "void years" numerous times in recent years, which are basically fake years added to the back of a contract to spread out a player's signing bonus. That's helpful in the short term, but once a player's contract voids, those prorated bonuses all hit that year's cap as dead money.

For example, Kirk Cousins has another $28.5 million in prorated signing bonuses on his contract, spread across four void years from 2024-27. When his deal voids on the first day of the new league year (March 13th), that's a $28.5 million dead cap charge that'll hit the Vikings' books. If they eventually re-sign him, they can move that money around again, but that obviously won't be an option if he leaves to sign elsewhere.

The same is true with both Danielle Hunter ($14.9 million in dead money) and Marcus Davenport ($6.8 million). Hunter could potentially be brought back, but Davenport almost certainly won't. That's just over $50 million in potential dead money between those three players (on top of a guaranteed $3.1 million in dead money for Dalvin Cook), which is worth keeping in mind as the Vikings head towards free agency.

GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has a lot to maneuver this offseason as he makes a bunch of massive decisions on the team's future.