Vikings QB Sam Darnold was on his way to a big payday this offseason. But two bad games may have cost him his job — and millions.

The Minnesota Vikings went from a Super Bowl contending, 14-game winner playing for the NFC North title with the conference's No. 1 seed and a wild-card bye on the line -- before Week 18's 31-9 defeat by the Detroit Lions -- to an early playoff exit because of a 27-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Darnold is on a one-year contract for $10,000,000 with the Vikings with $8,750,000 guaranteed and an additional signing bonus of $6,250,000. Although his base salary in 2024 was only $2,500,000, he earned a healthy roster bonus of $1,000,000.