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By Matthew Davis
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The Minnesota Vikings locked up a three-time Pro Bowler with a fully guaranteed deal on Tuesday, and Vikings fans gave strong but mixed reviews.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the Vikings gave 12th-year long snapper Andrew DePaola a one-year, $1.725 million contract fully guaranteed. Schefter said DePaola’s agent, Sean Stello, confirmed the move.
Some fans objected to or questioned the move, especially the fully guaranteed contract. Others supported, recognizing the importance of the unheralded long snapper position in football. Long snappers snap the ball on special teams plays involving kicks and rarely get noticed by the media.
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“This is a bit confusing. Why would he go back? It doesn’t make sense,” one user wrote via X.
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One user strongly questioned @Grok’s take on DePaola, referring to long snappers as “elite specialists” and noting that “snaps must be perfect every time” for all three kinds of kicks.
“@grok which the reason behind that? Of being paid (an) amount like this?” the user wrote via X.
Other fans recognized the importance of a veteran such as DePaola snapping the ball on field goals, extra points, and punts. DePaola has been with the Vikings since 2020, and he made the Pro Bowl three-consecutive seasons from 2022 to 2024 before a hand injury cut things short in 2024.
“Nobody talks about these guys until they mess up and then suddenly everyone’s an expert. DePaola has been invisible his whole career and that’s exactly the point,” one user wrote via X.
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Another user praised the Vikings' front office decision.
“Fully guaranteed $1.725M for a 3x Pro Bowler? That’s how you take care of the guys who never miss a mark. DePaola is arguably the best in the business right now,” the user wrote via X. “Vikings special teams remains top-tier.”
Vikings kicker Will Reichard hit 94.3% of his field goals and 100% of his extra points last season. Punter Ryan Wright averaged 49 yards per punt.
That said, DePaola’s deal had one fan questioning his own life decisions.
“I made the wrong career choice in life. Almost 2mil to snap the ball?” the user wrote via X.
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