Star quarterback Kirk Cousins will be taking his talents to Atlanta as the veteran signal-caller will be signing a four-year deal with the Falcons, Cousins’ agent Mike McCarney told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal is worth a whopping $180 million with $100 million of that being guaranteed, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported.
The #Falcons are signing Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract that includes a $50M signing bonus, per sources.
Another monster payday for Cousins, who gets $100 guaranteed — $90M in 2024 and ‘25, plus another $10M in 2026 — and a fresh start in Atlanta at age 35. pic.twitter.com/NkFNMzSjF5
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 11, 2024
The 35-year-old Cousins will join the third team of his career after spending six seasons each with the Washington Redskins and then Minnesota Vikings.
LANDOVER, MD – DECEMBER 24: Quarterback Kirk Cousins #8 of the Washington Redskins warms up before a game against the Denver Broncos at FedExField on December 24, 2017 in Landover, Maryland.
LANDOVER, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 06: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings throws the ball in the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Commanders at FedExField on November 06, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. Todd Olszewski/Getty Images
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 24: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings warms up before the game against the Washington Redskins at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 24, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Adam Bettcher/Getty Images
The four-year deal will take him into his age-40 season in Atlanta.
Falcons are giving their new QB Kirk Cousins a four-year deal. https://t.co/MqE3Txe1Y3 pic.twitter.com/IlPfKx9qC0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2024
The Vikings made a strong push to bring back Cousins, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Kirk Cousins, the top free-agent QB on the market, has agreed to terms with the Atlanta Falcons, per sources. The Vikings pushed strongly for Cousins’s services, but in the end, the Falcons were going to go as far as they needed to make this happen. pic.twitter.com/MyqxY27nxd
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 11, 2024
Cousins gets a fresh start in Atlanta, who had previously been linked heavily to Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. (RELATED: Star Wideout’s Long Contract Saga Ends With Surprisingly Cheap Deal)
Cousins is coming off a lost year, only playing in 8 games last season after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury.
LANDOVER, MARYLAND – NOVEMBER 06: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates after the Wikings defeated the Washington Commanders 20-17 at FedExField on November 06, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Atlanta’s new head coach Raheem Morris now gets his guy and a chance to build an exciting offense helmed by Cousins and featuring weapons like running back Bijan Robinson and tight end Kyle Pitts.
The insane $100 million guaranteed is a continuation of a pattern in Cousins’ career contract negotiations that has served him well. The veteran signal caller has consistently sought out deals that maximize his guaranteed money over contracts that have potentially larger overall payments.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA – JANUARY 26: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings throws a touchdown pass in the second half of the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium on January 26, 2020 in Orlando, Florida. Mark Brown/Getty Images
After serving out his rookie deal in Washington, the then-Redskins used the franchise tag on him for consecutive years before he signed a fully guaranteed $84 million contract with Minnesota, a deal structure that was far from orthodox at the time.
Cousins has parlayed his skillset and negotiating acumen into nearly half a billion dollars in career earnings, as analyst Warren Sharp noted on Twitter.
contracts signed by Kirk Cousins:
2012: standard 4-yr rookie deal
2016: $19.9M fully guaranteed
2017: $23.9M fully guaranteed
2018: $84.0M fully guaranteed
2020: $66.0M fully guaranteed
2022: $35.0M fully guaranteed
2024: $150M ($100M fully guaranteed)career: $411M thru…
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 11, 2024
All this money and he’s only won one single playoff game in his career. And he needed a literal miracle to do it.
I’m not knocking Kirky. Collect your bag, player. But that’s a hell of a lot of money to give a guy with almost no record of delivering any meaningful wins. Yes, he’s a four-time Pro Bowler. Yes, he has great regular season stats. But again, he hasn’t done anything. This Atlanta tenure will likely be his last chance to prove he deserves to be mentioned with the NFL greats. The pressure will be on. If he doesn’t deliver in Atlanta he will likely become an NFL afterthought, cursed to be a future piece of obscure NFL trivia rather than a hallowed legend worthy of the half a billion dollars he’s squeezed out of NFL franchises.