The Minnesota Vikings and top corner Xavier Rhodes have reportedly reached an agreement on a contract extension. This extension is for six years and is worth a total of $78.126 million dollars.
Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes signed a 6-year, $78.126 million extension, including $41M gtd, tying him to Minnesota through 2022, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 30, 2017
Minnesota Vikings Extend Xavier Rhodes’ Contract
The Minnesota Vikings top cornerback is finally being paid like the number one player he is. Over the span of his current four-year, $7.8 million dollar contract, Rhodes has made an average of $1.9 million a year. This has been good for 67th amongst corners in average money per year. His new deal will make him the third highest paid corner in the league on an average per year basis. Rhodes was scheduled to hit free agency next offseason, but this lucrative extension will keep him with Minnesota through 2022.
Quietly, the Vikings standout has played like arguably the best corner in the league the past couple seasons. Last season alone he shut down the likes of Odell Beckham Jr., Jordy Nelson, and Kelvin Benjamin, amongst others. Rhodes is one of few corners that can be consistently lined up against the opposing team’s number one option and keep them in check on the majority of plays that come his way. A shutdown corner is an incredibly valuable asset to any defense, but they are few and far between. Xavier Rhodes is one of the only true shutdown corners in the game today.
With one of the most important pieces of their formidable defense locked up long term, the Vikings should be able to keep the unit at a very high level for at least a few seasons to come. Having Rhodes locked up allows them to focus on other members of the team who will become free agents down the road. For a team with a young core and Super Bowl aspirations, this is vital. The more key pieces they can retain, the better their chances are of sniffing the postseason.
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