MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings continued to make quick work of signing their 2014 draft class on Tuesday morning, and the list of players now includes their top pick.
UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr, whom the Vikings selected with the ninth overall pick, has agreed to a rookie contract with the Vikings, according to a league source. Barr's rookie contract will pay him a signing bonus of $7,588,072, and be worth a total of $12,743,596 over the next four years. The entire contract is guaranteed, and the Vikings will have a fifth-year option on Barr that would pay him the transition tag for his position, which was about $9.75 million this year.
The team had previously announced the signings of fifth-round pick David Yankey, sixth-rounder Kendall James and seventh-rounder Jabari Price, but the addition of Barr means the Vikings will have their top pick under contract two months sooner than last year. The team finished a deal for defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd just before the start of training camp last year and got contracts done for fellow first-rounders Xavier Rhodes and Cordarrelle Patterson soon after. With rookie contracts now slotted by the collective bargaining agreement, there's no reason for teams to wait to sign their draft picks, and the Vikings already have their biggest deal done.
They are now the second team in the NFC North to agree to terms with their top pick; the Chicago Bears finished signing their entire rookie class last week.