Kirk Cousins Gets Paid Again, Atlanta Falcons Left Holding the Bag

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins landed with the Las Vegas Raiders. His agent was the first to break the story, but details for the contract have since emerged from NFL insider Tom Pelissero.

On paper, Cousins will sign a five-year, $172 million deal, but it will effectively be a one-year, $20 million agreement. This number is in line with a standard bridge quarterback contract.

The Falcons could have received up to $10 million in offsets from his agreement with the Raiders, will get just $1.3 million back after he agreed to a veteran minimum for 2026. Cousins will receive his fully guaranteed $10 million for playing in Las Vegas in 2026 ($1.3 million paid by LV, $8.7 million paid by the Falcons).

He will receive an additional $10 million next March in a fully guaranteed roster bonus with no offset. Beyond that, the Raiders hold a two-year, $80 million option for 2027-28, which is unlikely to be picked up, and two void years in 2029-30 for cap purposes.

The Falcons will still have a $35 million dead cap hit, but they spread that money across 2026 ($22.5 million) and 2027 ($12.5 million) after giving him a post-June 1 designation.

Cousins continues his run of being one of the highest-earning players in the NFL. His career earnings of $321.7 million, as of April 2026, are the third highest in league history. This contract will push him past Tom Brady ($333 million) for second in league history, but it could surpass Matthew Stafford for the most ever ($408.3 million) if the Raiders choose to pick up his contract beyond next season.

The quarterback signed a four-year deal worth up to $180 million ($100 million guaranteed) with the Falcons as a free agent back in 2024, but that ended in a failed experiment. He finished his time in Atlanta with a 12-10 overall record, throwing for 5,229 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions.

After a strong start to his time in Atlanta, where the Falcons were 6-3 and sitting atop the NFC South, Cousins suffered shoulder and elbow injuries in a Week 10 loss to the Saints. He hid the injuries, but his performance suffered. He threw one touchdown and nine interceptions over five games, and the Falcons went 1-4.

Cousins was benched, and the Penix era began. After that, the divorce was inevitable, but it took one season longer than expected to arrive. He ended up starting the final seven games of the 2025 season, and the Falcons and Cousins re-worked his deal to make his release a certainty.

Now the quarterback has landed on his new team, officially solidifying the end of what has been a disappointing two-year experiment.

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