“Paid So Much to Be So Average”: $150 Million Contract for Kirk Cousins Leaves NFL World Dazed and Confused

After six sub-par seasons in Minnesota, Kirk Cousins‘s tenure with the club has come to an end. He had been in constant negotiations with the Vikings this off-season, but the Falcons made an offer that the Michigan State alum could not refuse. Cousins, in the past few weeks, has been constantly linked with the Falcons, and finally, he agreed to join the Atlanta side on a massive 4-year, $180 million contract with $100 million in guaranteed money.

Kirk Cousins will go on to earn an average annual salary of $45 million, with $50 million in just a signing bonus, as per Spotrac. The former Redskins QB was expected to get a 3-year contract worth around $40 million a year, but it seems the Falcons value him more than the market. The massive contract also ended the hopes of the Vikings re-signing him.

Nonetheless, this massive payday has left football fans baffled, and one could very well argue that they have a point. The majority of them can’t fathom why an average QB like Cousins keeps landing such massive contracts. A few, however, feel that the now-former Vikings QB has achieved excellence when it comes to contract negotiations. Interestingly, one user noted that Cousins has higher career earnings than four Hall of Famers in Manning, Marino, Elway, and Montana.

A fan, who couldn’t believe his eyes, said, “I don’t understand how he keeps getting paid so much to be so average.”

Another chimed in and stated,

A fan quipped,

Someone wrote,

A user commented,

Others said,

With all of that out of the way, it must be discussed how much dough Kirk Cousins has earned in his 12 seasons in the league, despite a lack of success beyond the regular season.

Kirk Cousins’ Total Career Earnings

Cousins gets yet another lucrative contract with an excess of guaranteed money. Despite being almost 36 and still recovering from an ACL injury, the former Vikings QB will earn $100 million in guaranteed money through his new 4-year contract with the Falcons.

As per NFL analyst Warren Sharp, who broke down the newly signed Falcons QB’s contract, the $180 million contract will take his career earnings to $411 million by 2027. Drafted in 2012, in the 4th round, he signed the standard $2.73 million rookie contract with the Redskins. In 2016, Cousins signed a 1-year, $19.953 million non-exclusive franchise tag, followed by another 1-year, $23.9 million franchise tag in 2017.

Cousins was finally traded to the Vikings, with whom he signed a 3-year, $84 million fully guaranteed contract. This was followed by a 2-year extension worth $66,000,000 — also fully guaranteed. Then in 2022, he inked another fully guaranteed $35 million deal with the Purple and Gold. His new 4-year, $180 million contract takes his earnings in guaranteed money to $329 million. Despite such high career earnings, he has won just 1 playoff game in his 12-year-long tenure.

But one can very well argue that the Falcons are still getting an experienced QB with seven over 4,000-yard seasons under his belt. They might finally give some competition in the NFC South. They will also be hoping that Cousins’ experience helps them get the best out of their young squad, full of talents like Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, and many more. They haven’t had a playoff appearance since 2017 and Raheem Morris would definitely want to change that.