Done Deal: Former Michigan QB signs rookie contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

Nearly three months after trading up to select J.J. McCarthy with the tenth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings have reportedly signed the former Michigan quarterback to a rookie contract.

According to Adam Schefter, McCarthy and the Vikings have reached an agreement on a four-year, $21.85 million contract. This sum includes a signing bonus of $12.71 million and a fifth-year team option.

McCarthy helped the Wolverines win three Big Ten Championships, including back-to-back victories as starters in 2022 and 2023. As a junior, he led Michigan reach the pinnacle of college football, leading the team to a 15-0 record, a Rose Bowl victory, and the College Football Playoff National Championship. When his name was announced in Detroit, he became the first Michigan quarterback selected in the first round of an NFL Draft since his former coach, Jim Harbaugh, in 1987.

The Vikings’ decision to draft McCarthy elicited mixed reactions from the public. While McCarthy’s admirers see him as a proven winner with the necessary agility, arm power, and intangibles to lead an NFL organization, the most popular criticism focused on a perceived lack of high-leverage use in Michigan’s run-first offense.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell emphasized a desire to continue developing McCarthy rather than hurry him into the starting position. That meant Sam Darnold would begin training camp as the starting quarterback.

“O’Connell, scarred by Washington’s botched development of late quarterback prospect Dwayne Haskins during his tenure there as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, laid out for ESPN his plan to ensure that McCarthy won’t have to play until he is ready,” wrote Kevin Seifert. Still, in pre-Draft workouts, “the Vikings saw a degree of decisiveness and arm strength” from McCarthy “that in their opinion rivaled any of the draft’s top six quarterbacks.”

After making the trade and selecting McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell spoke with reporters about why they chose the Michigan QB. Here are highlights from that press conference, from April 2024:

He’s his biggest fan, as you know. I know a lot about the relationship has been well documented. Obviously I talked to J.J. about it as well.

The guy knows leadership and he knows passion having been around him. I know what he looks for in a quarterback, and I’m not surprised him and J.J. had such a connection. The positivity that he brings, the culture, all those things. But then from a talent standpoint I remember when he used to talk about how much he loved Colin and different things about his skill-set and why he liked him.

o not a surprise. The conversations we’ve had were great. We got a lot of great feedback. Sherrone Moore was great with us. He’s like, ‘That’s the guy. Trust me. That’s the guy.’ A lot of people speak highly of him. You walk in those hallways there, there’s not a person that’s not a big fan of J.J. McCarthy.

We’re really happy with him coming here. He’s excited. He’s a competitive kid — I know that — and he’s looking to prove everybody right, wrong or indifferent.