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This Day In Sports…April 23, 2008:
Less than five years after starring for Idaho State, defensive end Jared Allen becomes the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL with his trade from Kansas City to Minnesota. The Vikings signed Allen to a six-year contract with $31 million guaranteed—and a total of $74 million possible if he were to reach certain incentives. Not bad for a guy who was projected by some scouts as a better long snapper than pass rusher coming out of ISU in 2004. They had Allen as a sixth or seventh round draft pick, but he overachieved that by being scooped up by the Chiefs in the fourth.
Allen, the Buck Buchanan Award winner at ISU as Division I-AA’s best defensive player, had led the NFL in sacks in 2007 with 15.5 but had a major falling-out with the Chiefs, ending with a breakdown in contract negotiations. Allen had wanted a long-term deal to remain in Kansas City, but instead the team placed the franchise tag on him to keep him on the roster for one more year. Allen felt that was disrespectful and that he had been lied to during contract negotiations, and he sought a trade.
The Chiefs received the Vikings’ first round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, No. 17 overall, plus two third round selections in the Allen trade. It was three days before the draft, and locally we speculated if the deal would affect the status of Ryan Clady, Boise State’s star left tackle. Some mock drafts had Clady being picked No. 5 overall by the Chiefs, but they needed defensive line help after dealing Allen. Indeed, KC took defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey with its first pick, and Clady was chosen No. 12 overall by Denver (Boise State’s highest-ever draft choice until Ashton Jeanty a year ago).
Allen quickly earned his keep in his first year with Minnesota, logging 14.5 sacks and forcing two safeties. In his first playoff game for the Vikings, he turned in two sacks and forced a fumble. Allen continued to pay dividends for Minnesota, recording a career-high 4.5 sacks in a game in 2009 and setting a team season record for sacks with 22.0 in 2012. He’d remain with the Vikings until 2014, when he signed with the Chicago Bears as a free agent. The Bears traded him to Carolina early in the 2015 season, which would be his last. Allen’s final game was Super Bowl 50, where the Panthers lost to Denver 24-10.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
