MINNEAPOLIS -- Of the 16 undrafted free agents the Minnesota Vikings signed last month, they reserved the biggest signing bonus for the most prominent name on the list.
Wide receiver Kain Colter, whose efforts to help college players unionize while he was the quarterback at Northwestern, got an $8,000 bonus from the Vikings after signing with the team in May, according to ESPN Stats and Information. That is the largest bonus the Vikings paid to any undrafted free agent, and it matches the top bonus the team gave out last year, to Southern Methodist fullback Zach Line.
Eight other Vikings undrafted free agents got bonuses ranging from $1,000 to $4,000, but Colter's was easily the largest. NFL teams had $80,362 to spend on signing bonuses for undrafted free agents this year, and they could spend as much or as little as they chose. The Vikings have spent just $26,000 of their budget this year, after doling out $64,500 last year. All undrafted free agents get three-year contracts with non-guaranteed base salaries of $420,000, $510,000 and $600,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Former Iowa guard Conor Boffeli, who was released by the team on May 19, got the second-biggest bonus during his short stay with the Vikings, at $4,000.
The receiver has had little interest in talking about his activism since he joined the Vikings, saying he wanted to concentrate on football now that he was in the NFL, and the bonus offers some indication the Vikings see potential in his ability to stick on the roster among their other undrafted free agents. Teddy Bridgewater connected with him on an impressive touchdown pass in a 7-on-7 drill during the team's open OTA last Thursday, and Colter could have some potential as a return man, as well.
Here is the full list of the Vikings' signing bonuses for the 16 undrafted free agents they signed, according to ESPN Stats and Information data:
WR Kain Colter: $8,000
G Conor Boffeli $4,000 (released)
DE Rakim Cox: $3,000
DE Tyler Scott: $2,500
TE AC Leonard: $2,500
G Austin Wentworth: $2,000
WR Erik Lora: $1,500
T Matt Hall: $1,500
WR Donte Foster: $1,000
QB Travis Partridge $1,000 (released)
RB Dominique Williams: $1,000
T Antonio Richardson: No bonus
C Zac Kerin: No bonus
T Pierce Burton: No bonus
DE Jake Snyder: No bonus
DT Isame Faciane: No bonus