Kirk Cousins Contract Projections Keep Going Up
The biggest offseason domino for the Minnesota Vikings revolves around Kirk Cousins.
We very well could know this upcoming week whether or not the veteran QB will be re-signing with the Vikings or spending his age-36 season elsewhere. However, contract projections for the veteran QB continue to be on the rise.
Kirk Cousins Contract Projections Keep Going Up
It has widely been circulated that Cousins will garner a ton of interest on the open market this spring. Seeing as the legal tampering period begins on Monday, we will officially get a chance to see exactly what that market brings in less than 48 hours.
With that Monday date right around the corner, ESPN’s Field Yates made this remark in a recent piece: “No need to overthink this one, as Cousins is going to cash in once again, despite being just 4½ months removed from a torn right Achilles. He was playing outstanding football at the time of his injury and is the best free agent quarterback available in a thin market and in a league with a bunch of teams desperate for an upgrade. If you told me that Cousins winds up signing a two-year, $100 million fully guaranteed contract, I would not be stunned.”
If Cousins were to garner a contract of $50 million in AAV for the 2024 season, it would place him at the fifth-highest average price point for a QB in the NFL behind only Joe Burrow ($55 million), Justin Herbert ($52.5 million), Lamar Jackson ($52 million), and Jalen Hurts ($51 million), per Spotrac.
In all likelihood, such a contract would include a few void years to spread out the money, but if his cap hit were to sit at $50 million in 2024, Cousins would hold the fifth-highest cap hit in the entire NFL for next year.
Cousins’ negotiation skills have been elite throughout his NFL career, and the quarterback has garnered over $250 million in guaranteed money over his 12 years in the league. With the salary cap exploding up to $255.4 million in 2024, he is in a great place to earn another massive deal if desired.
It isn’t exactly like Cousins’ play has declined in recent years, either. Before he suffered his Achilles injury, the QB was playing some of the best football of his career, totaling 2331 yards, 18 TDs, and five interceptions over eight games.
This year’s cap increased by $30.6 million (13.61%), which is the largest increase in NFL history in total money, even surpassing the increase from 2021 to 2022 following the Covid pandemic. Once again, things are all working in Cousins’ favor for a massive deal.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and Spotrac.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
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