Kirk Cousins ​​Contract Details: Why the Falcons Signed the Veteran Quarterback to a Big-Money Free-Agent Deal

This spring, the Falcons made a big push for Kirk Cousins ​​at quarterback.

Atlanta had a busy offseason after missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, finishing with another mediocre 7-10 record. They fired coach Arthur Smith and traded for quarterback Desmond Ridder to breathe new life into the organization.

One of the Falcons’ first orders of business was to hire a new quarterback, and Cousins ​​proved to be the best veteran quarterback available to fit Atlanta’s anticipated winning timeline.

How much did Cousins ​​make in this deal? Sporting News takes a closer look below.

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Kirk Cousins ​​Contract Details

Cousins ​​signed a massive four-year, $180 million contract extension with the Falcons in March 2024.

The deal included $100 million guaranteed and a $50 million signing bonus. Cousins ​​also has a potential exit from his contract before the 2026 season, according to Spotrac.

The full details of his contract can be found below.

Year	Age	Basic salary
2024	36	$12.5 million
2025	37	$27.5 million
2026	38	$35 million
2027	39	$35 million
2028	40	UFA

The length, value and guarantees of the contract were a bit of a surprise considering Cousins ​​is 36 and coming off a season-ending Achilles injury. He still didn’t look completely healthy in his first game with the Falcons, throwing for just 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a loss to the Steelers.

The deal makes Cousins ​​the 14th-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL by contract value. His $45 million annual average is the same as Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes, 12th in the league.

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Kirk Cousins ​​Career Stats

Cousins’ contract has come under intense scrutiny because despite his solid regular season performances, that success failed to translate into the playoffs.

In his 12-season career before this year, Cousins ​​had appeared in just four playoff games and was 1-3. $180 million is a lot of money for a player who has never made it past the divisional round.

Yet, believe it or not, no other quarterback has gained more passing yards than Cousins ​​(36,596) since becoming a regular starter in 2015. Russell Wilson (262) is the only active quarterback with more passing touchdowns than Cousins ​​(253) during that time.

Below you will find Cousins’ career stats.

Year	Team	GP	Record	% in cm	Yds Passes	Give me TD	INT
2012	WAS	3	1-0	68.8	466	4	3
2013	WAS	5	0-3	52.3	854	4	7
2014	WAS	6	1-4	61.8	1,710	10	9
2015	WAS	16	9-7	69.8	4,166	29	11
2016	WAS	16	8-7-1	67.0	4,917	25	12
2017	WAS	16	7-9	64.3	4,093	27	13
2018	MIN	16	8-7-1	70.1	4,298	30	10
2019	MIN	15	10-5	69.1	3,603	26	6
2020	MIN	16	7-9	67.6	4,265	35	13
2021	MIN	16	8-8	66.3	4,221	33	7
2022	MIN	17	13-4	65.9	4,547	29	14
2023	MIN	8	4-4	69.5	2,331	18	5
2024	Atlanta	1	0-1	61.5	155	1	2
Career		151	76-68-2	66.9	39 626	271	112