Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf on J.J. McCarthy, plans to honor Jim Marshall and chasing Super Bowl trophies

No NFL ownership group has cut more checks to players this offseason than the Vikings.

Yet the team’s success in 2025 may hinge on how one of their cheapest players handles his first NFL campaign.

During his annual news conference with local reporters on Wednesday, Vikings co-owner Mark Wilf was asked about his anticipation level to see quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick out of Michigan last year, make his NFL debut on Sept. 8 in Chicago.

“Excited to see his development,” Wilf said. “The way he goes about it, being a pro, and the spirit he brings to it with a coach like coach O’Connell — it’s going to prove out well. So, I know we’re excited so far and can’t wait to see where the future goes.”

The Vikings rank No. 1 in cash spending this season, according to OverTheCap.com, illustrating the team’s fervor to build a solid foundation around McCarthy and take advantage of a four-year rookie contract.

In the NFL, there are salary cap charges and there is simple cash spent. The Vikings, like all teams, can spend up to this year’s $279.2 million salary cap (plus whatever cap room they’ve rolled over from 2024).

They can also spend more as long as the cap charges are accounted for in future NFL seasons. The Wilfs are on the hook for nearly $359 million allocated to players this season, just ahead of the Super Bowl-contending Bills (almost $358 million) and Chiefs ($348 million).

Since the Wilf ownership group purchased the team for $600 million in 2005, the Vikings have a 175-147-2 record (.543) in the regular season and three playoff wins in eight appearances.

But now they also have the Associated Press’ reigning NFL Coach of the Year in Kevin O’Connell, who last year joined the Packers’ Matt LaFleur and former 49ers head coach George Seifert as the only head coaches with multiple 13-win seasons within their first three years with a team.

O’Connell and General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah agreed to multiyear contract extensions this offseason.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth,” Wilf said. “People forget how young both Kevin and Kwesi are. The way they’ve grown together the last three years has been super impressive. ... Communication, collaboration, the kind of people [Adofo-Mensah] has put around him. ... We worked very closely to build this thing, and hopefully the results will prove out.”

Wilf opened his news conference by expressing condolences to the families of the four people killed by a gunman who opened fire in a Manhattan office building on Monday.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said investigators believe the gunman, Las Vegas casino worker Shane Tamura, was trying to reach the NFL offices but entered the wrong elevator. A staff memo from league commissioner Roger Goodell said one NFL employee was seriously injured in the attack but was in stable condition at the hospital.

A note in Tamura’s pocket reportedly claimed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, and accused the league of hiding the dangers of brain injuries linked to contact sports.

When asked how NFL ownership receives an apparently targeted attack at league offices, Wilf said the tragedy had “nothing to do” with the NFL’s safety efforts.

“I take it really as a senseless, horrific tragedy,” Wilf said. “That’s the main takeaway from me. Of course, there’s issues about mental health and all the rest. Certainly on the NFL front, I’ve thought all the efforts that have been made in terms of safety and wellness — but this has nothing to do with all of that. This is a senseless tragedy that has touched so many.”

The Vikings will honor legendary ironman Jim Marshall, who died in June at age 87, throughout the season with a helmet decal. The team will also recognize Marshall and his family during the team’s Sept. 21 game against the Cincinnati Bengals at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Since the NFL began moving its annual three-day draft weekend around the country in 2015, fans have filled the streets of Green Bay, Wis., Detroit and Chicago. Since hosting the Super Bowl in 2018 at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings have continued to lobby league officials to host a NFL draft in Minneapolis.

“We certainly have been working with the Minnesota events group and the NFL to put our community out there to make sure we get a draft,” Wilf said. “We’ve shown we can do big events, whether it’s the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and I know our team is hard at work putting an effort together.”