The Minnesota Vikings managed to land star tight end TJ Hockenson from the Detroit Lions at the trade deadline last season, and he enjoyed an extremely productive stint with his new team after joining them (60 REC, 519 YDS, 3 TD). Hockenson is going to have a big role with the Vikings in his first full season with the team, and as a result, they decided to hand their star tight end a historic new contract ahead of the start of the 2023 season.

After struggling to truly find his role during his first three-and-a-half seasons with the Detroit Lions, Hockenson immediately fit into the Vikings offense, and quickly became one of Kirk Cousins' favorite targets to pass to. With Jordan Addison coming in to replace Adam Thielen at wide receiver, Hockenson should have even more room to operate with this upcoming season.

Throughout training camp, Hockenson had been partaking in a “hold-in” as he looked for a new deal, and he was limited for a good period of time due to several injury ailments. The two sides finally managed to find common ground in their extension talks, though, and Hockenson can now solely focus on gearing up for the Vikings Week 1 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Via Adam Schefter:

“Compensation update: TJ Hockenson is signing a four-year, $68.5 million contract extension that resets the tight end market, source tells ESPN. The $17.125 million annual average and $42.5 million guarantee are the highest for a tight end in NFL history.”

In terms of the money, Hockenson's deal is going to reset the market for star tight ends. The guaranteed money and annual value are both the most in any deal for a tight end in NFL history, and for other top players at the position, they will look to Hockenson's deal when figuring out how much money they want. Hockenson's partnership with the Vikings got off to a great start last year, and this massive deal will have Minnesota and their fans hoping that his strong play for them continues over the next few years.