With so much talk about what the Vikings want to do with receiver Percy Harvin, there hasn’t been much talk about what Harvin wants to do with the Vikings.
And Harvin, at this stage of his career, wants to get paid.
Last year, when Harvin asked for a trade, he wasn’t unhappy with his financial situation. But he then viewed 2012 as a contract year. Which means that, even with one year left on his rookie deal, Harvin wants a new contract.
And he could be preparing to take a stand in order to get it. Per a league source, Harvin currently is expected to stay away from offseason workouts and training camp absent a new deal.
He’s due to make $2.9 million in 2013. It’s unclear what he wants, but high-end wideouts earn at or about eight figures annually.
And while it’s also unclear whether Harvin wants to stay in Minnesota, whether the Vikings will pay him what he wants surely has a lot to do with whether he’ll want to stay.
Because Harvin has four years of service, he could stay away from training camp and skip up to 10 weeks of the regular season while still getting credit toward the final year of his contract and becoming an unrestricted free agent next year. Though he would face significant fines and the loss of multiple game checks, a holdout is likely unless he signs a new contract.