Midfielder ​Alexia Putellas scored a brace to lead Barcelona to a 4-2 win over Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Women’s Champions League semifinal tie on Sunday. It completed a 5-3 aggregate victory to set up a final against OL Lyonnes. The French side had finished off holders Arsenal in the other semifinal on Saturday.

“I’m really happy for the team, they’ve had a great season and now we just need to put the cherry on top,” three-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati told streaming service Disney+.

“(Lyon) are a historic club in the Champions League, they’ve got an amazing team, for me they’ve always been the side to beat, added the playmaker, who got one of the biggest cheers of the match when she was substituted on in the 68th minute — marking her return to action after having broken her leg in December.

Sunday’s defeat in front of more than 60,000 spectators at the Camp Nou came after Bayern had held Barca to a 1-1 draw at home a week ago and with the visitors looking to pack their defense and hit the hosts on the break. However, the Catalans needed only 13 minutes to open the scoring, with Salma Paralluelo finishing off a Caroline Graham Hansen cross.

Bayern leveled the score just four minutes later when Pernille Harder seized the ball at the halfway line before delivering a pass to an on-running Linda Dallmann at the top of the box, who left the Barca keeper without a chance on her well-placed finish. 

However, the home side appeared unimpressed as Putellas put Barca back in front with a deflected effort in the 22nd minute. Poland striker Ewa Pajor struck in the 54th minute, ​and Putellas hooked home her second of the match four minutes later to seemingly kill the game off.

Late Bayern push unrewarded

Harder, though, had other ideas, ⁠drilling ​the ball into the far corner to reduce ​the deficit to two in the 71st minute as Bayern pushed hard for a comeback. The visitors twice hit the woodwork in the dying minutes before Harder again found the back of the net in the 90th, only to have it called back by the video assistant referee (VAR).

“Right now it’s too painful,” Bayern defender and Germany captain Giulia Gwinn told German public TV broadcaster ZDF.

“There’s plenty of frustration as we had the feeling we were still in it,” she stressed.

“I know we can be proud, but that feeling will come a bit further down the line. We had chances, hit the woodwork twice. I’m not able to explain why the goal was chalked off.

Barcelona move on to face OL Lyonnes in the final in Oslo, Norway, on May 23. This will be the sixth final in a row for the Spanish giants, who won the Champions League in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

Bayern, having failed to make a first Champions League final, are still on course for the double. Having clinched their fourth consecutive Bundesliga title last month, they face Wolfsburg in the German Cup final in Cologne on May 14.

Edited by: Matt Pearson

The upcoming season is always the most important one for fans, players, and coaches, but scheduling, planning, and recruiting for future seasons never stop.

Below, we have assembled the future nonconference schedules for the next three to four years (2027-2030), where available.

In the cases of two programs, games for 2030 are not yet known, while another currently only runs through 2028.

It should be noted that all future schedules are tentative and subject to change.

Here are the future schedules for the region’s top teams, listed alphabetically.

Air Force

2027
9/04—Lafayette
09/18—Baylor
10/02—at Navy
11/06—Army

2028
09/30—at UTSA
10/07—Navy
TBA—at Army

2029
09/15—at Arizona
TBA—Army
TBA—at Navy

2030
TBA—Navy
TBA—at Army

Arizona

2027
09/04—at Colorado St
09/18—Northern Arizona
09/25—WSU

2028
09/02—Colorado St
09/09—Prairie View A&M
09/16—at Nebraska

2029
08/25—at Hawai’i
09/08—Virginia Tech
09/15—Air Force

2030
08/30—at Virginia Tech
09/07—Northern Arizona
09/14—Wyoming

Arizona State

2027
09/04—Cal Poly (or Sept. 2)
09/11—Texas A&M
09/18—at UNLV

2028
09/02—Northern Arizona
09/09—at San Diego St

2029
09/01—Northern Arizona
09/08—at LSU
09/15—San Diego St

2030
09/14—LSU

Boise State

2027
09/04—at Appalachian St
09/11—USF
09/18—at Marshall

2028
09/02—at Cincinnati
09/16—Georgia Southern

2029
09/01—Cincinnati
09/15—at Washington
09/22—Western Michigan

2030
08/31—at Memphis
09/07—Idaho St
09/14—Houston

BYU

2027
09/04—Weber St
09/25—Oregon St
TBA—at Notre Dame

2028
09/02—vs Oregon St (Las Vegas)
TBA—Boston College

2029
09/01—Idaho St
09/08—Colorado St
TBA—at Boston College

2030
08/31—Weber St
09/14—Virginia Tech
09/21—at Northern Illinois

Cal

2027
09/04—at UCLA

2028
09/02—UCLA
09/09—San Jose St
09/16—at Minnesota

2029
09/01—Wisconsin
09/08—at Wyoming
09/15—at UCLA

2030
08/31—at Wisconsin

Colorado

2027
09/04—Colgate
09/11—Northwestern
09/18—Northern Illinois

2028
09/02—UMass
09/09—at Florida
09/16—Northern Colorado

2029
09/08—Florida
09/15—at Colorado St

2030
08/31—SMU
09/07—at Missouri
09/14—Colorado St

Colorado State

2027
09/04—Arizona
09/11—at Sam Houston
09/18—at Wisconsin
09/25—HCU

2028
09/02—at Arizona
09/09—Sam Houston
09/23—Wyoming
09/30—at Oklahoma

2029
09/08—at BYU
09/15—Colorado
09/22—at Wyoming

2030
09/07—Wyoming
09/14—at Colorado

Fresno State

2027
08/28—Utah Tech
09/04—at Washington
09/11—at Rice
09/25—San Jose St

2028
09/02—Stanford
09/09—at USC
09/16—Cal Poly
09/23—at Georgia Southern

2029
09/01—at Stanford
09/29—San Jose St

2030
09/07—at Texas Tech
09/14—Kansas

Hawai’i

2027
09/04—Northwestern St
09/11—at New Mexico St
09/18—UCLA

2028
08/26—Kansas
09/02—Fordham
09/09—at UCLA
09/23—at San Diego St

2029
08/25—Arizona
09/22—San Diego St

2030
08/31—at Stanford
09/14—at Washington

Nevada

2027
08/28—Troy
09/04—Idaho St
09/11—at USC
09/25—at Utah St

2028
09/09—at Utah
TBA—at SMU

2029
09/01—at Nebraska
09/08—Utah St
09/15—at Kansas

2030
09/07—at Ohio St

New Mexico

2027
09/04—Northern Colorado
09/11—at Oregon St
09/18—at Texas A&M
09/25—New Mexico St

2028
09/16—at New Mexico St
09/23—Oregon St

2029
09/08—at Central Michigan
09/15—New Mexico St

Oregon

2027
09/04—Eastern Washington
09/11—at Baylor
09/18—WKU

2028
09/02—North Dakota St
09/09—Baylor

2029
09/01—Portland St
09/15—Utah St

Oregon State

2027
09/04—Portland St
09/11—New Mexico
09/18—at Ole Miss
09/25—at BYU

2028
09/02—BYU (Las Vegas)
09/09—Idaho
09/23—at New Mexico

2029
09/01—Sacramento St
09/08—San Jose St
09/29—at Wake Forest

2030
08/31—Ole Miss
09/07—at San Jose St
09/14—at Kansas St

San Diego State

2027
09/03—at Eastern Michigan
09/11—Missouri
09/18—at Oklahoma

2028
09/02—at Missouri
09/09—Arizona St
09/23—Hawai’i

2029
09/01—Oklahoma
09/15—at ASU
09/22—at Hawai’i

2030
09/21—Central Michigan

San Jose State

2027
09/02—at Minnesota
09/18—Portland St
09/25—at Fresno St
10/02—North Texas

2028
09/02—Mercyhurst
09/09—at Cal
09/16—Toledo
11/25—at Stanford

2029
09/01—Eastern Michigan
09/08—at Oregon St
09/15—Utah Tech
09/29—at Fresno St

2030
08/31—at UTSA
09/07—Oregon St
09/14—at Rice
09/21—Cal Poly

Stanford

2027
09/11—Vanderbilt

2028
09/02—at Fresno St
09/16—Portland St
11/25—San Jose St

2029
09/01—Fresno St

2030
08/31—Hawai’i
10/05—William & Mary

UCLA

2027
08/28—UC Davis
09/04—Cal
09/18—at Hawai’i

2028
09/02—at Cal
09/09—Hawai’i

2029
09/01—UC Davis
09/15—Cal

2030
09/07—at Utah

UNLV

2027
09/04—at USC
09/11—Akron
09/18—ASU
09/25—at James Madison

2028
09/09—Houston
09/16—at Washington

2029
09/15—at Memphis
09/22—UTSA

2030
08/31—James Madison
09/14—at Iowa St

USC

2027
09/04—UNLV
09/11—Nevada

2028
09/09—Fresno St

Utah

2027
09/04—Miami (Las Vegas)
09/11—Wyoming
09/25—Southern Utah

2028
08/31—Utah Tech
09/09—Nevada
09/16—at Wisconsin

2029
08/30—Weber St
09/15—at Arkansas

2030
08/29—Utah Tech
09/07—UCLA
09/14—Utah St

Utah State

2027
09/04—at Oklahoma
09/18—Toledo
09/25—Nevada

2028
09/09—at UTEP
09/23—Temple

2029
09/08—at Nevada
09/15—at Oregon

2030
09/14—at Utah

Washington

2027
09/04—Fresno St
09/18—at WSU

2028
09/02—Eastern Washington
09/16—UNLV
TBA—WSU

2029
09/01—at Tennessee
09/15—Boise St

2030
09/07—Tennessee
09/14—Hawai’i

Washington State

2027
09/04—Idaho
09/11—Kansas
09/18—Washington
09/25—at Arizona

2028
09/02—UC Davis
09/09—at Kansas
TBA—at Washington

2029
09/08—Kansas St
09/15—Idaho

2030
09/07—North Texas
09/14—Eastern Washington

Wyoming

2027
09/04—Southern Utah
09/11—at Utah
09/18—at North Texas
09/25—Central Michigan

2028
09/02—Idaho St
09/09—Akron
09/16—at Texas Tech
09/23—at Colorado St

2029
09/01—Western Illinois
09/08—Cal
09/15—at UConn
09/22—Colorado St

2030
08/31—Northern Colorado
09/07—at Colorado St
09/14—at Arizona
09/21—North Texas

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Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues spoke about the motivation driving the team as they gear up for the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, following their historic triumph in the 50-over tournament at home last year. Speaking at the IISM Degree Distribution Ceremony 2026, Jemimah, alongside head coach Amol Muzumdar, expressed the team’s desire to build on their recent success. “I think it’s a bit of motivation now. Since we’ve won one, we want to win two,” Jemimah said as quoted by ICC.

The team’s preparation for the next World Cup, according to Jemimah, has been long and steady.

“Our preparation has been strong. It didn’t just begin after the squad announcement. Right after the 2025 World Cup, during our first series against Sri Lanka, coach Amol Muzumdar told us, ‘This is where we start for the next World Cup.’ So we’ve been preparing from day one,” Jemimah shared, highlighting the importance of early and consistent training.

Jemimah also lauded Nandani, a player who has emerged as a key figure for the team. “Nandani has been fantastic for us,” Jemimah remarked. “She proved herself not just in one game, but consistently across matches. With the experience in this squad, we’re confident she’ll flourish on the big stage.”

As the Indian team continues their preparations, the confidence in their squad’s ability, leadership under Muzumdar, and the presence of rising stars like Nandani suggest they are more focused than ever on achieving even greater success at the global level.

Amanjot has been a key figure in India’s white-ball setup and played a crucial role in their 2025 triumph, making her absence in the UK a big blow, particularly given her value as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

“She is injured, and it is very difficult to replace somebody like Amanjot. She has been doing consistently well for India,” Muzumdar said, a sentiment that was also echoed by India captain Harmanpreet Kaur in the press conference after the squad announcement.

“We will miss her for sure, but injuries are part of the game, and she has had a bad one, and she will be out of cricket for at least 4-5 months. I hope she recovers well and comes back stronger. She is difficult to replace, but that is the way it goes,” he added.

Placed in Group A alongside Australia, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on 14 June.

India squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026:

Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh, Shree Charani, Yastika Bhatia, Nandani Sharma, Arundhati Reddy, Renuka Singh, Kranti Gaud, Shreyanka Patil, Radha Yadav.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Tushar Deshpande’s Brilliant Final Act Ensures Thrilling Win For RR Over Gujarat Titans

Mark Wood of England (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

England fast bowler Mark Wood has shared a remarkable and humorous story from his time in the Indian Premier League, revealing how a franchise owner once offered to fly him on a private jet just to ensure he played a match — despite being seriously unwell.Speaking on BBC’s Strategic Timeout podcast, Wood recalled falling ill midway through a season after featuring in a handful of matches. What followed, he said, was an extraordinary level of attention from the franchise, including constant medical monitoring.“I wasn’t very well after about five games, and the (next) game was in about three days’ time. Every half an hour, the doctor would stay back, come to my room, check on my vitals,” Wood said.The situation soon took an unusual turn when the team owner personally reached out to check on his availability.“I remember one day the owner ringing me, ‘How’re you feeling? Ready to go?’ and I said, ‘Honestly, I’ve eaten and drunk nothing, I still can’t get out of bed’. He went, ‘We’ll get you another doctor, we’ll do this and that’,” he revealed.‘I’ll send a private plane’Despite Wood’s condition, the owner remained determined to have him feature in the game — so much so that he offered an eye-popping solution.“Next day, it’s the owner again, ‘How are you feeling?’ and I said, ‘Honestly, I’m still not good’. He then said, ‘I’ll send a private plane, you get in the plane, play the game. Then I’ll get the plane straight back out and get you back to your bedside’,” Wood said, laughing at the memory.The England pacer admitted he was briefly tempted by the surreal offer and even sought advice from his father.“So I rang my dad and I was like, ‘Dad, they’re going to send a private plane.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, but how do you feel?’ I said, ‘Honestly, if I stand up, I feel not well… I could faint’. He said, ‘You’re not right’. But I was like, ‘Dad, it’s a private plane’ (laughs),” Wood added.Ultimately, he decided against playing, but not before appreciating the sheer novelty of the situation.“For that split second, I was like, ‘This is the coolest thing that’s probably ever happened to me in my life. This is unbelievable’,” he said.Wood has had a brief IPL career, featuring for Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, taking 11 wickets in five games.

Also in this sports roundup:

In Italy, Inter Milan won the 2026 Serie A title. In rugby, Union Bordeaux-Bègles will defend their European title against Leinster. In tennis, Jannik Sinner won the Madrid Masters 1000. In F1, Kimi Antonelli secured a hat-trick of wins. In the NBA, the Pistons knocked the Magic out of the competition.

Teenage super-talent Paul Seixas will make his Tour de France debut this July, his team confirmed on Monday.

Speculation has swirled for months over whether the 19-year-old Frenchman would line up in Barcelona this summer after a series of hugely impressive results, or whether his Decathlon CMA CGM squad would protect him from the weight of expectation – particularly from the French press as the home favourite – and the gruelling physical challenge of riding the Tour, the most demanding of the three Grand Tours, at such a young age.

Seixas is only in his first full season as a professional rider and has never ridden a Grand Tour. But he has made waves with some remarkable performances, winning the Itzulia Basque Country stage race in April and La Fleche Wallonne, as well as finishing second – only behind Tadej Pogacar – at Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

His Basque Country triumph, when he claimed all four jerseys and won three stages, made him the first Frenchman to win a WorldTour-level stage race since Christophe Moreau won the 2007 Criterium du Dauphine.

Those results, coupled with the maturity of his performances – particularly his ability and willingness to compete with Pogacar – mean he is already being hyped as the successor to Bernard Hinault, the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France, in 1985.

Decathlon had previously indicated his summer programme would be re-assessed after the Ardennes Classics, with his excellent run of results there making a Tour start all the more likely.

The team released a video of Seixas sharing the news of his plan to ride the Tour with his grandparents, with the caption, “J’ai quelque chose à vous annoncer… I have something to tell you.”

The teenager from Lyon has previously said his biggest dream is to win the Tour de France. The race starts in Barcelona on 4 July and finishes in Paris on 26 July this year.

Defending champion Pogacar lines up as the undisputed favourite after another stellar spring campaign, with his main rival Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel expected to challenge.

After Seixas’ fine start to the season Decathlon will have reason to hope for a podium finish and stage wins for the teenager, while from a more commercial perspective his participation will drive publicity for the French-based team.

Jose Benavidez Sr, the father and trainer of David Benavidez, has insisted there is only one fighter who would offer his son a considerable challenge.

The 29-year-old became a three-division world champion against Gilberto Ramirez, dethroning his former sparring partner with a sixth-round stoppage at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

Beforehand, many felt their encounter was likely to go the distance, especially with Benavidez moving up from 175lbs and Ramirez having never previously been dropped.

As it happened, though, Ramirez was forced to suffer two knockdowns – and a nasty swelling on his right eye – before being relieved of his WBO and WBA titles.

Benavidez, meanwhile, is now the unified cruiserweight champion and has the option to move back down to light-heavyweight, where he holds the WBC world title.

In that division, he would likely be targeting an undisputed showdown with Dmitry Bivol, but ‘The Mexican Monster’ could alternatively make an audacious move up to heavyweight.

Benavidez has previously discussed a potential fight in the land of the giants, which his father and coach believes is the only way he will be properly tested.

Speaking with Fight Hub TV, Jose named unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk as perhaps the only man who could present his son with some semblance of a challenge.

“Right now, I’m going to be honest with you: I don’t see any danger for David Benavidez at 175[lbs] and at cruiserweight.

“Nobody can beat David, this is ‘The Monster’ era. At the end of the day, he’s beating everybody in every division, so [he] might as well go to f***ing heavyweight.

“I think the biggest challenge would be Usyk. That’s something like out of this world. That’s the only guy that I think could [challenge him], that would be crazy, that would be another big challenge because he [Usyk] is the pound-for-pound best in my opinion.”

While a clash between Usyk and Benavidez would, indeed, be quite extraordinary, it is difficult to imagine the Ukrainian including Benavidez in his three-fight plan.

French teenage prodigy Paul Seixas announced on Monday that he will ride the Tour de France in July for the first time, raising hopes of a first home winner in more than four decades.

No Frenchman has won the Tour since Bernard Hinault did so for a record-equalling fifth time in 1985.

The 19-year-old Seixas has been in stunning form this season, winning seven races and pushing all-time great Tadej Pogacar close in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege Monument one-day classic a week ago.

He has ridden two week-long stage races and four one-day classics this season, and has not finished below second.

Read moreFrench teenager Seixas becomes youngest Fleche Wallonne winner

He will be the youngest rider to start a Tour in 89 years when the Grand Boucle begins in Barcelona on July 4.

In a video posted to social media by Seixas’s Decathlon CMA CGM team, he is shown visiting his grandparents in the eastern Haut-Savoie region near his home in Lyon.

“I’ve come here to announce to you something special, I have a race in July,” he tells his grandparents, before they guess that he is talking about the Tour.

Seixas’s potential participation in the sport’s most prestigious race has been the subject of much speculation, especially since he has demonstrated that he is already one of the best riders in the world.

Many experts believe it is too soon for him to tackle the 3,333 kilometer (2,069 mile) long three-week race, which includes eight mountain stages, including five summit finishes.

It will be his first grand tour and the first time he has tackled a race longer than eight days.

Read moreFrench teen star Seixas becomes youngest ever winner of Basque Tour

But he has excelled in every other challenge put before him this season.

“If he’s not ready, then who is ready?” his Belgian team-mate Oliver Naesen told Cyclingnews last month.

“He’s 100 percent ready to go to the Tour.”

But Marc Madiot, the sporting director of rival French team Groupama-FDJ United believes it would be unwise for the young star to compete so soon.

“We underestimate what the Tour de France is,” he told RMC radio station on Sunday.

“When you ride the Tour de France… you enter into a washing machine which wears you down, which devours you day after day,” he added.

And in four-time winner Pogacar, Seixas will be up against “someone who destroys his rivals mentally one after another, even his own team-mates.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP) 

The Minnesota Vikings spent big during the free agency periods of 2024 and 2025, and because they scaled back in 2026, resetting their salary cap, they might be for sale, or so goes the theory from Pioneer Press‘s Charley Walters.

The Wilfs have spent aggressively, which makes the sale speculation tougher to buy.

Walters delivered the spicy take inside his weekly article, and the theory landed big time in front of shocked eyeballs, as nobody anywhere thinks or thought that the franchise is for sale.

Minnesota’s Spending Habits Tell a Different Story

Do you perceive the Vikings as for sale?

Walters: The Vikings Could Be For Sale

Walters wasn’t shy about unloading his theory, writing, “It’s beginning to look as if Vikings ownership now could be mirroring Twins ownership, which has sought to sell its team. Figuring they were championship worthy, the Vikings a year ago spent more money on player payroll in the offseason ($350 million) than any of the NFL’s other 31 teams.”

“This offseason, the Vikings have spent just $226 million, second lowest in the league. It appears Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf have decided on a significant payroll slash this year. The Vikings won’t admit it, but this sure looks like a rebuilding year. This is the 21st year the Wilfs have owned the Vikings. Until this year, they have made a commendable attempt at winning the Lombardi Trophy.”

Regarding the pursuit of a Lombardi Trophy in 2026, it is unclear why Walters thinks the Vikings have ruled themselves out. They boasted a Top 3 defense last year and signed Kyler Murray in March. Those components should suggest playoff contendership.

Walters continued, “Meanwhile, the Twins’ Pohlad ownership isn’t unlike what Red McCombs did with the Vikings in 2005 before selling to the Wilfs. McCombs, who bought the Vikings for $246 million in 1998, cut player and coaching staff payroll to a bare minimum and waited until he got his price ($600 million) from the Wilfs.”

“If the Wilfs, who curiously still haven’t named a permanent general manager since firing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last January, were to sell the Vikings today, they could get between $8 billion and $9 billion.”

A Misinterpretation of Free Agency Spending

Walters equated the Vikings’ small-ish free-agent spending as evidence that ownership is chomping at the bit to sell. The first part is true; the second part is not.

In 2024, Minnesota used $167 million on new contracts. That ranked fourth-most in the NFL. In 2025, Minnesota used $270 million on new contracts. That ranked second-most in the NFL. A franchise cannot continually rank near the top of free agency spending; it’s impossible. It’s why there’s a salary cap.

When a club opts to spend freely for a year or two, it must scale back soon after. The scaleback is happening in real time right now. In fact, if Minnesota wants to spend next year or in 2028 free agency, it can now do so — because it held off on spending future years’ money in 2026.

Teams spend big, then they reset. Then, they do it again. The Vikings do it consistently. In fact, fans are probably looking at another year of quiet spending in 2027.

No Shred of Evidence beyond the Rumor Article

For those who want to see the Vikings led by new owners, you’re going to be waiting for a while.

Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling tweeted Sunday, “A source close to the Wilfs said there’s ‘zero truth’ to the notion the Vikings owners are thinking about selling the team. They’ve long talked about the team staying in the family for multiple generations, and both Mark and Zygi Wilf’s kids have taken on larger roles with the team in recent years.”

The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis added, “You can only spend millions in cash over cap for so long without premium results. That’s the extent of this. And just for the record: The Wilfs aren’t selling the Vikings. Zero truth to that whatsoever. Source close to ownership made that abundantly clear.”

In the end, Walters’s take about the owners’ would-be sale of a team boiled down to one man’s opinion — a hot take.

Mike Florio’s Take

NBC Sports‘ Mike Florio interpreted Walters’s theory as if it were credible, noting, “While the ever-inflating values of NFL franchises could tempt more than a few current owners to take $10 billion or more and run, there’s not enough there to justify a conclusion that this is anything other than a cap correction after the Vikings overplayed their hand in 2025, due primarily to the very bad decision(s) made about the most important position on the team.”

“While no one will objectively conclude that the Minnesota roster screams out ‘Super Bowl contender’ for 2026, the spending decisions don’t immediately point to a potential sale of the team. Still, perception is reality. With the hypothesis morphing into the beginnings of a theory, it could be time for the Wilfs to make the case publicly that they aren’t getting ready to pound a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard.”

Walters’s thesis is pretty straightforward: the Vikings could be for sale because they rolled back the spending this offseason. The only problem with that hypothesis? It’s standard operating procedure to reduce spending after Top 4 spending sprees in consecutive offseasons.

If anything, onlookers should have expected and predicted a “boring” free agency.