Right tackle Brian O’Neill isn’t going anywhere after all.

GM Nolan Teasley has made a few moves since taking over as the top decision maker in the Twin Cities. None compare to what he just did with the O’Neill contract. The news broke moments before Teasley stepped in front of the media alongside Kevin O’Connell.

Coach O’Connell referred to O’Neill as a “pillar.” He’s now a much richer pillar.

Check out ESPN’s Adam Schefter with the details: “Compensation update: Vikings have signed OT Brian O’Neill to a four-year, $96 million contract extension. He now is under contract to Minnesota for the next five years.”

Nolan Teasley Gets Deal Done with RT1 Brian O’Neill

Chosen at No. 62 in the 2018 NFL Draft, Brian O’Neill has proven to be an amazing success.

The former tight end has always been a great athlete. What wasn’t certain, at least initially, was whether he needed some time to be brought along slowly as he acclimated to the ruggedness of NFL football. He very quickly had to get inserted into the lineup, though, due to injury. He quickly proved capable of being a strong option for the Vikings.

For a little while, O’Neill felt like an oasis in the desert. The Mike Zimmer years never involved Minnesota having a strong offensive line, an ironic detail given the former coach’s emphasis on running the football. O’Neill often found himself as the lonely competent blocker up front.

Since then, there has been a pile of resources poured into the offensive line. Christian Darrisaw got snagged with a 1st. So did Donovan Jackson. Blake Brandel was a 6th who has since found his way into starting lineup as the center. At right guard, the well-compensated Will Fries is locking down the top job. Based on the effort to build up the trenches, the Vikings should — should — be very good.

Better yet, depth options such as Caleb Tiernan, Michael Jurgens, Walter Rouse, and Gavin Gerhardt have all demanded draft picks. Somebody such as Ryan Van Demark arrived in the Twin Cities after getting stolen away via RFA contract.

Brian O’Neill is among the foremost leaders on the Vikings’ roster. Other guys stand out as being excellent in this regard — safety Josh Metellus is awesome; C.J. Ham was a top leadership voice prior to retiring — but O’Neill is indisputably among the top few most respected voices on the team.

The coming days are going to bring added clarity on what the finances look like after the extension. Much digital ink was spilled about the possibility of clearing up north of $14 million in cap space. At minimum, expect short-term breathing room.

What’s of interest, though, is what the commitment looks like beyond 2026.

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Brian O’Neill is now very likely to finish his career as a Minnesota Viking. He’s probably going to see his #75 jersey retired inside of U.S. Bank Stadium. Seeing him push Minnesota toward winning a Lombardi — as far off as that possibility appears — would fully secure his spot as a Vikings legend.

Mr. O’Neill is going to turn 31 on September 15th.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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Fifa spent 1,403 words in a public statement seeking to rationalise their new plan to sell off stakes of the World Cup to private investment, but a few choice phrases are now ringing out elsewhere.

“Shocking.”
 “Football’s nuclear bomb.” “Worse than the Super League, and bigger than 115.” “The line in the sand.”

None of that is exaggerated because it ties together so many of the extremes that have been pushing, pulling and twisting football, let alone the world, for so long, potentially crystallising so much of what has been coming to dictate its future: what the game should be and what it’s becoming; how it repeatedly shows it has a social value that you can’t buy as so many involved try to financially exploit that; what people say in private and what gets done in public.

You can even roll that right up to the seemingly dry details of governance like how the people who are going to vote on this, the heads of the member associations, are in many cases directly paid by Fifa through positions and committees.

This is when all of that matters most. How are they going to vote?

And, maybe most pertinently given the direction of the sport for so long, where is the resistance going to come from? Uefa have talked a good game, with a statement that directly says this “crosses a line” and rightly asserts the World Cup’s is “not Fifa’s to sell” – but are they finally going to play a hand?

Is this long-running tension going to spill out into a war that football arguably needs? Is anyone going to look at the bigger picture and actually make a stand?

Because, and this really can’t be stressed enough, once you start selling the game off, there’s really no getting it back.

Typical of how football and the world are going, Fifa’s 1,403-word statement of course turned all of this rationale on its head. It’s of a piece with Gianni Infantino’s unhinged Sunday statement about criticism. This announcement was headlined “Fifa intends to expand football development funding to over USD 10 billion subject to approval by Fifa Member Associations”, so duly framed by ideas of redistribution and democracy.

Once again, a not-for-profit raising money, any money, was automatically elevated as if it’s a good thing without any further thought. The core reality was finally referenced a bit further down, as Fifa spoke of “carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests” in the new Fifa Forward Enterprise programme. That is set to bring the creation of a new company being formed to run the primary competitions, where Fifa would own a majority stake, private investors would have 20 to 30 per cent and then the 211 members a small stake totalling around 20 per cent.

Except, “non-controlling” isn’t how such money tends to really work. In reality, that kind of money brings a lot of influence.

By the same token, for all that Fifa bleated in seemingly endless paragraphs about how such thinking “lifts the whole game” and the need “to make sure the rest of football grows”, those now responsible for voting on this need to actually earn their money and think about the deeper implications.

There are profound concerns here even beyond the core philosophical virtue that the World Cup only belongs to the countries of the world – and, by extension, its football communities – and that’s it. What do they think happens once you allow such interests in? There might be the short-term benefit of being able to point your own national association to newly flush cash reserves of up to $20m – but what next?

Clue: such interests don’t tend to have wider societal concerns; they don’t care for what doesn’t make money. As one source puts it, “the current stakeholders benefit but everyone loses out in the future”. Trickle-down economics don’t work here, as the last few decades of football have made emphatically clear. This is why Celtic or Ajax don’t win the Champions League any more. It’s why every other country suffers a talent drain to Western Europe.

And what would now be directly incentivised – especially through the establishment of a company to run all of this – is the expansion of the Club World Cup and all of the ideas that serve existing wealth, both in the game and society. It shouldn’t be forgotten that Infantino was involved in Super League discussions, with the clubs at one point thinking they had Fifa’s blessing.

The global governing body have now already confirmed that Josh Kushner, brother of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has been in talks about becoming the proposed lead investor.

Infantino’s long relationship with the US president suddenly takes on an even sharper perspective, especially among the mooted next steps for this. An excellent exclusive by Martyn Ziegler of The Times has already broached that Infantino would be lined up to run the company as a “commissioner” once his final presidential term expires in 2031. In other words, a lucrative post-presidency life.

When you stand back, this looks a lot like one man using his position – and the sport – for personal betterment. Or, as one senior insider put it, “only in Infantino’s world can things somehow get worse for the game every day”.

It should be what anyone who cares for the sport stands against, but will those with actual say really do that? Will they, as one other insider states, “put their bollocks on the line”?

Some who despise the idea have already marvelled at its realpolitik “genius”, likening it to the fait accompli of the Saudi Arabia 2034 “acclamation” in how everything already looks lined up. Every individual association would get a huge figure – or could sell off some of their share in the new company – so those in power right now are clearly incentivised to vote for it. And this in a world where only a fifth of member associations actually return audited accounts to show how the money is used.

It reminds us how broken the system is, how the reform that was supposed to take place after Infantino succeeded Sepp Blatter never happened. And in that structure, how is this actually going to be stopped when such a financially attractive package is taken to Congress for approval and there are no checks and balances?

It all speaks to this central long-running theme of the game being taken further and further away from those who have an actual emotional stake in it; a personal stake – right up to the ownership of clubs. Members of the Fifa Council insisted they only found out through the media, reiterating how the body now works. The FA, chaired by Fifa vice-president Debbie Hewitt, were completely unaware of the proposal and it was not mentioned at Friday’s board meeting.

Many similar figures declared themselves shocked, appalled, disgusted. Except we’ve heard so much of this before. This, more than ever before, is a time to act. Could Uefa countries actually threaten to pull out… or will the individual countries just look at those financial figures?

The world should watch how everyone votes on this. Hiding behind the majority, and pointing to Fifa’s dismally dull politics, will no longer cut it. This is a decision with repercussions way beyond all of that.

This is what all of the politics, all the game’s long problems, were ultimately leading to. This is the line.

Let’s see who stands where.

India ended Day 5 of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with 12 medals: two gold, seven silver and three bronze, to remain 9th in the medal tally standings. The contingent added two silver medals on Tuesday, July 28, with Harjinder Kaur finishing second in the women’s 69kg weightlifting event and Gulveer Singh claiming silver in the men’s 10,000m.

Australia tightened its grip on the top of the medal standings with 80 medals, comprising 35 gold, 18 silver and 27 bronze. Canada climbed to second with 13 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze for a total of 35 medals, while England slipped to third despite increasing its overall tally to 42 medals with 10 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze.

India collected two silver medals on Day 5. Harjinder continued the country’s impressive weightlifting campaign, while Gulveer scripted history by becoming the first Indian man to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the 10,000m. The boxing contingent also guaranteed three more medals after Preeti Pawar, Priya Ghanghas and Jadumani Singh advanced to the semifinals.

India’s medal winners on Day 5 of CWG 2026

Harjinder continues India’s weightlifting medal surge

The silver marked Harjinder’s second successive Commonwealth Games medal, having won bronze in the women’s 71kg category at the Birmingham 2022 Games. It also took India’s weightlifting medal tally at Glasgow 2026 to seven, further reinforcing the sport as the country’s biggest source of medals.

Harjinder improved with every attempt in both disciplines, clearing 96kg, 99kg and 101kg in the snatch before successfully lifting 120kg, 123kg and 126kg in the clean and jerk to register her best-ever Commonwealth Games total.

Canada’s Charlotte Simoneau won gold with a Commonwealth Games record total of 240kg (108kg in the snatch and 132kg in the clean and jerk), while Australia’s Nya Phebe Hayman took bronze with 218kg.

Earlier in the day, Nirupama Devi Seram endured disappointment in the women’s 63kg competition. After recording 93kg in the snatch, she failed to register a valid clean and jerk lift and finished with a Did Not Finish (DNF).

Gulveer creates history in men’s 10,000m

The medal made Gulveer the first Indian man to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the men’s 10,000m and only the second Indian overall to finish on the podium in the event after Kavita Raut, who claimed bronze in the women’s race at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The national record holder stayed with the leading pack throughout the race before finishing strongly to secure second place and add another historic medal to India’s athletics campaign.

Three boxers assure India of medals

India enjoyed another productive day in the boxing ring as three pugilists booked semifinal berths to guarantee themselves at least bronze medals.

Preeti Pawar outclassed Northern Ireland’s Nicole Clyde 5-0 in the women’s 54kg quarterfinal, while Priya Ghanghas defeated Scotland’s Niamh Mitchell 4-1 in the women’s 60kg last-eight contest.

Jadumani Singh completed the hat-trick with a commanding 5-0 victory over Zambia’s Mwengo Mwale in the men’s 55kg quarterfinal.

However, there was disappointment for two Indian boxers. Parveen Hooda exited the women’s 65kg competition after a narrow 3-2 defeat to England’s Sacha Hickey, while Kapil Pokhariya bowed out in the men’s 90kg quarterfinal following a 5-0 loss to Scotland’s Robert McNulty.

The three semifinal qualifications ensured India will add at least three more boxing medals to its tally later in the Games, alongside Lovlina’s already confirmed medal in the women’s 75kg event. This means India now virtually have 16 medals to their account.

Commonwealth Games 2026 medal tally (top 20)

Oleksandr Usyk has shared his thoughts on former rival Tyson Fury‘s recent victory over Mariusz Wach.

Usyk famously had two battles with Fury during 2024, winning the first one in May of that year by split decision to become undisputed heavyweight champion, before following that up with a win in their rematch by unanimous decision seven months later.

That sent Fury into retirement, but ‘The Gypsy King’ returned in April with a one-sided points win over Arslanbek Makhmudov, which was expected to then set up a long-awaited clash with Anthony Joshua later this year.

With Joshua having a warm-up bout against Kristian Prenga on Saturday, Fury decided to have another outing of his own, going up against Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday.

It was an uneventful yet straightforward win for Fury, as he earned the seventh round retirement win, and now Usyk has told Boxing King Media what he made to his past foe’s performance, praising him for taking on one of his former sparring partners in Wach.

“I know Mariusz, he was my sparring partner. Yes [he’s a big man]. Greedy belly, [did] good. I say Greedy thank you, because Tyson help Mariusz [make] money.”

The match-up between Fury and Joshua is now expected to take place in November, after ‘AJ’ overcame a big scare by recovering from two first round knockdowns to knock out Prenga in the second round of their bout on Saturday.

Usyk is now training alongside Joshua, so it adds another interesting dynamic to the upcoming fight between the two British stars.

AJ Lee shared a two-word reaction to a major achievement amid her WWE hiatus. The veteran has been absent since WrestleMania 42 earlier this year in Las Vegas.

Ringside Collectibles shared on social media their top ten best sellers for the week yesterday. AJ Lee ranked number 2 behind Penta’s Elite 126 action figure. The former Women’s Intercontinental Champion reacted to the news on X with a two-word message, and you can check it out in her post below.

“Oh, hi,” she wrote.

AJ Lee has been married to CM Punk since 2014. Punk also went on hiatus after losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 42. The Second City Saint returned earlier this month to defeat Sami Zayn to become the new Undisputed WWE Champion. Punk will be defending the title against Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam this weekend.

Lee lost the Women’s Intercontinental Championship to Becky Lynch at WrestleMania. Becky Lynch is also now on hiatus from the company after losing the title to Sol Ruca at Clash in Italy. Sol Ruca dropped the Women’s Intercontinental Championship to The Judgment Day’s Raquel Rodriguez last night on RAW.

AJ Lee opens up on her decision to leave WWE in 2015

AJ Lee recently discussed why she had to leave the promotion in 2015. The veteran returned after a decade away at Wrestlepalooza 2025 to team up with CM Punk in a victory over Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch.

Speaking on WWE Unreal Season 3 on Netflix, The Geek Goddess shared that her husband had already left the company and she wanted to step away as well for her mental health.

“In the last year of my career, so much was happening inside the company, outside of the company, with my husband and the company, my physical health, my mental health, that it just was this perfect storm of… I’m not okay right now. I felt like I hit every single milestone on my 10 year wishlist of dreams. I did everything. But the tension, the fans, none of that means sh*t if you’re not alive to enjoy it,” she said. (H/T: WrestlePurists)

Only time will tell when Lee finally makes her long-awaited return to WWE television.