The Fascination of Kirk Cousins and a ‘Team Friendly’ Deal
Dustin Baker
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A quarterback who delivers 34 touchdowns and seven interceptions in a season should be a no-brainer to endorse for the future, right?
Not quite.
Those are Kirk Cousins’ numbers for 2021, and some fans of the franchise don’t think 34 and 7 are worthy of a contractual extension. The naysayers’ opinion of Cousins is protogenic, formed in 2018 when Cousins and his expensive contract didn’t guide the Vikings to the postseason during his maiden voyage in purple. And that frustration was fair.
Several anti-Cousins folks never recovered from that memory, deciding on that afternoon Cousins wasn’t worth the big bucks. Even a walkoff playoff win at New Orleans in 2019 didn’t change minds.
So, a meet-in-the-middle moment for the fans wanting to retain Cousins and the lofty amount of touchdowns along with the camp wanting to move on — is a reasonable financial number for Cousins. It is the quest for Cousins to consider a “team-friendly deal.”
Based on productivity, Cousins should earn $30 million per season — the going rate for the 11th-best quarterback in the NFL.
However, the definition of team-friendly varies from Cousins detractor to Cousins detractor. Some want the man to take $20-$25 million annually.
And that ain’t happening.
The Star Tribune‘s Andrew Krammer said it best this week on the Access Vikings podcast:
“I’ve got a grain of inside information that Kirk Cousins is still, as of February 2022, not in the charity business. That’s all I’ll say.“
– Andrew Krammer | Star Tribune
This is correct — Cousins will not be taking an outlandish discount to play for the 2022 or 2023 Vikings. He just won’t. Cousins likely has one or two more cracks at earning premium money, so the likelihood of the 33-year-old bowing to fans’ thirst for a team-friendly deal is slim.
Of course, Cousins could check in at the $30 million per season figure — if his agent is feeling the charitable vibes mentioned by Krammer. The team-friendly idea probably has a $30 million boundary. Too, Minnesota could structure his deal like the last go-round when Rick Spielman designated Cousins’ cap hit as $21 million in 2020, waiting for the astronomical $45 million cap hit two years later (now).
No matter how you dice it, Cousins will earn at least $30 million per year. There are only about 10 humans in the world who can throw 30 touchdowns every season. Only nine did so in 2021.
Adjust your expectations. If Cousins obliges any discount, it won’t be truly team-friendly like a Teddy Bridgewater type.
The reality is another Cousins extension around $30-$35 million per year — or a trade.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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