Vikings Hire Salary Cap Expert as Consultant to Help Rob Brzezinski

Longtime salary cap expert Matt Thomas is joining the front office for the next few months.

Nov 23, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of an Minnesota Vikings helmet during the warmups prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Vikings have made a significant addition to their new-look, post-Kwesi Adofo-Mensah front office, according to multiple reports. They're hiring longtime salary cap executive Matt Thomas as a football administration consultant through April's draft.

The Vikings are hiring longtime NFL salary cap executive Matt Thomas as a football administration consult through April’s draft, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

Thomas’ presence will support and free up Rob Brzezinski, who is running football operations on an interim basis.

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 5, 2026

Thomas has been an NFL executive for nearly three decades with the Seahawks, Browns, and Dolphins. He most recently spent 11 years as Seattle's vice president of football operations before retiring after the 2024 season. Over the years, he built a strong reputation for his work on the cap management side of things.

The addition of Thomas will allow Rob Brzezinski, who is leading the Vikings' football operations through the draft, to take on a wider scope of duties — to "focus on the big picture," as NFL Network's Ian Rapoport put it. Thomas will work with Vikings senior manager of football administration Emily Badis.

Brzezinski has been with the Vikings since 1999 in football administration and operations. He's one of the premier cap gurus in the NFL. But with Adofo-Mensah gone and no one coming in to replace him in the general manager role for a while, Brzezinski will need to wear more hats over the next three months than he previously has. That's where bringing in someone like Thomas, who has significant experience as a salary cap guy, makes sense and should help support Brzezinski as his role changes.

The Vikings are currently in the planning and preparation stages for a critical offseason. Their first order of business will be to free up cap space, which shouldn't be too difficult. There are plenty of ways they can create space via extensions, restructures, trade, and/or cuts. Then focus will turn to re-signing players and bringing in new ones via free agency in mid-March. All throughout this process, the draft in late April will be a major point of focus.

Roster-wise, the most important thing the Vikings must do is bring in a quarterback who is either a clear upgrade from J.J. McCarthy or can serve as competition for Minnesota's young QB. They also have various other needs, including center, running back, safety, cornerback, and more.

After the draft, the Vikings will launch into a thorough search for a new GM. Brzezinski is one potential candidate, and it could be possible that Thomas sticks around long-term if Rob gets the job (and if Thomas has interest in coming out of retirement for more than a few months). If it's a more traditional GM hire and Brzezinski returns to his previous role, Thomas likely wouldn't be needed as the Vikings move forward.

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