[12] A new professional team in the area did not surface again until August 1959, when Minnesota businessmen Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund, and Max Winter were awarded a franchise in the new American Football League (AFL).

Five months later, in January 1960, after significant pressure from the NFL, the ownership group, along with Bernard H. Ridder, reneged on its agreement with the AFL and then was awarded the National Football League's 14th franchise, with play to begin in 1961.

[22] From the start, the Vikings embraced an energetic marketing program that produced first-year season ticket sales of nearly 26,000 and an average home attendance of 34,586, about 85 percent of Metropolitan Stadium's capacity of 40,800.

The Vikings won their first regular-season game, defeating the Chicago Bears 37–13 on Opening Day 1961; Tarkenton came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes and run for another to lead the upset.

Grant came to the Vikings from the Canadian Football League as head coach for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, whom he led to four Grey Cup Championships in 10 years.

During the late 1960s, the Vikings built a powerful defense known as the Purple People Eaters, led by Alan Page, Carl Eller, Gary Larsen, and Jim Marshall.

"[29] The team continued to dominate in 1970 (moving into the newly formed NFC Central) and 1971, reaching the playoffs behind the stubborn "Purple People Eaters" defensive line.

[31] On January 27, 1972, the Vikings traded Norm Snead, Bob Grim, Vince Clements and first-round draft picks in 1972 and 1973 to the New York Giants to reacquire the popular Fran Tarkenton.

[1] While the acquisitions of Tarkenton and wide receiver John Gilliam improved the passing attack, the running game was inconsistent and the Vikings finished with a disappointing 7–7 record.

[34] In 1977, the Vikings again won the Central Division with a 9–5 record and advanced to their 4th NFC Championship Game in 5 years,[1] but were defeated by the eventual Super Bowl Champion Cowboys, 23–6, at Texas Stadium.

[50][51] In the playoffs, the Vikings rolled past the Arizona Cardinals 41–21,[52] and came into the Metrodome heavily favored for their NFC title showdown with the Atlanta Falcons, who had gone 14–2 in the regular season.

[57] Minnesota beat Dallas in the Wild Card game 27–10,[58] and faced playoff newcomer Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams in the Divisional matchup.

[72] In doing so, the Vikings became the second team in NFL history to have a .500 record (8–8) in the regular season and win a playoff game (The St. Louis Rams did the same thing only a day earlier).

[81] In Week 13 of the 2008 season against the Bears, Gus Frerotte hooked up with Bernard Berrian and set the record for longest play in franchise history with a 99-yard touchdown pass.

The Vikings clinched the NFC North championship for the first time after defeating the New York Giants 20–19 in Week 17, when kicker Ryan Longwell made the game-winning field goal.

[85] With the addition of sack-leader Jared Allen in 2008, the dominant front four began being called by several nicknames, including "Thunder and Plunder" and "Shock and AWE" (an acronym of their surname initials).

[86] On August 18, 2009, after months of speculation and negotiations, twice-retired veteran quarterback Brett Favre, who until 2007 had played 16 years for division archrival Green Bay Packers, signed a two-year, $25 million deal with the Vikings.

[89] The Vikings beat the New York Giants, 44–7, in Week 17 to help the team clinch the second seed in the conference and a first-round-bye with an Eagles loss later that same day.

[102] During the season, the Vikings had many distractions, including trading for Randy Moss and then waiving him only a month later,[103] Brett Favre's NFL investigation for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to Jets' employee Jenn Sterger while he was with the team in 2008,[104] the Metrodome's collapse and resulting venue changes,[105] and finally head coach Brad Childress' firing on November 22 following a 31–3 loss at the hands of the rival Green Bay Packers.

[106] During the 2012 NFL draft, the team selected USC lineman Matt Kalil with the 4th overall pick after a trade with the Cleveland Browns,[107] and Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith in the first round.

Their sixth-round selection, German wide receiver Moritz Böhringer, was the first European player ever to be drafted by an NFL team without having previously played at any level in North America.

Quarterback Case Keenum threw the ball to wide receiver Stefon Diggs inside field goal range near the right sideline, giving the receiver a chance to get out of bounds with just enough time for a game-winning field goal attempt; however, safety Marcus Williams missed his attempted tackle, allowing Diggs to run down the sideline unopposed for the first walk-off game-winning touchdown in NFL playoff history.

[151] After a 31–17 win over the Chicago Bears in Week 18 to finish the season 8–9,[152] the team fired head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman on January 10, 2022.

[153] On January 26, 2022, the Vikings hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, former vice president of football operations at the Cleveland Browns and Director of R&D at the San Francisco 49ers, to be the team's new general manager.

[163] While first-round draft pick JJ McCarthy was originally speculated to have the opportunity to be a starter, battling for the QB1 positions with journeyman backup Sam Darnold, who had been signed in the offseason.

[172][173] The Vikings tweaked their Norseman logo, which involved updating the shading, altering the shape and base of the horns, thickening the mustache and face, making the gold tones brighter, and shortening the braid.

Although never one to shy away from confrontations with opposing players, notably Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson,[198][199] he had a soft spot for Brett Favre while the quarterback started for the rival Green Bay Packers.

[214] Skol (written "skål" in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish and "skál" in Faroese and Icelandic or "skaal" in archaic spellings or transliteration of any of those languages) is the Danish–Norwegian–Swedish word for "cheers" or "good health", a salute or a toast, as to an admired person or group.

[231] In 2013, in recognition of their final season at the Metrodome, the Vikings organized a fan vote to determine the best players at each position to play for the team in their time at the stadium.

[237][238] Telecasts of preseason games not shown on national networks are aired on KMSP (Channel 9) in the Twin Cities with a simulcast of KFAN's radio broadcast while Fox Sports North shows a tape delay later.