Kirk Cousins contract details: 2025 salary with Falcons, career earnings
Kirk Cousins entered 2024 NFL free agency seeking long-term security on his next contract. The veteran quarterback was preparing to play his age-36 season after missing the latter half of the Minnesota Vikings' 2023 campaign following a torn Achilles.
Cousins wasn't sure exactly what he would get on the open market. However, he knew the Vikings were searching for a successor to him and weren't interested in signing him to another long-term deal.
"We wanted to be in Minnesota. But, it became clear that we were going to be there year to year," Cousins said on Netflix's "Quarterback" series. "And that's what we didn't want. At that point, we said, 'All right, we need to look elsewhere. If that's our only option, then we'll be back.'"
Cousins found another option in the Atlanta Falcons. The team signed him to a four-year contract that would take him through his age-39 season hoping he could lead them to an NFC South title.
Instead, Cousins endured his share of issues in his first season with the Falcons. That included being benched for the final three weeks of the season in favor of Michael Penix Jr., who Cousins acknowledged he was "surprised" to see the Falcons take in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Cousins also said in his appearance on "Quarterback" he may not have signed with the Falcons had he known they were going to draft a quarterback early.
Nonetheless, Cousins remains under contract with Atlanta, and the Falcons don't seem interested in moving on from him even as they prepare to make Penix their full-time starter.
Here's what to know about Cousins' contract with the Falcons, as well as his career earnings in Atlanta, Minnesota and Washington.
Kirk Cousins contract details
Cousins signed a four-year deal, $180 million deal with the Falcons in free agency. Below is a look at the terms of the deal, per Spotrac.com:
- Term: 4 years
- Total value: $180 million
- Average annual value (AAV): $45 million
- Guaranteed money: $100 million
Cousins' contract presently ranks as the 15th-largest by total value among NFL quarterbacks and 14th in AAV.
Cousins' counterparts on Netflix's "Quarterback" series – Cincinnati Bengals star Joe Burrow and Detroit Lions signal-caller Jared Goff – rank ahead of him in both total value and AAV. Burrow is playing on a five-year contract worth up to $275 million ($55 million AAV) while Goff is playing on a four-year, $212 million deal ($53 million AAV).
Kirk Cousins salary, cap hit for 2025
Cousins is set to make $27.5 million in base salary for the 2025 NFL season, which matches the total cash he will receive this year, per Spotrac.com. He will carry a cap hit of $40 million thanks to his $50 million signing bonus with the team being prorated over four years at an annual rate of $12.5 million.
Kirk Cousins contract structure
Cousins' contract is worth up to $180 million. Below is a look at how the deal is parsed out.
- Base salary: $110 million
- Signing bonus: $50 million
- Roster bonuses: $20 million
Cousins received his $50 million signing bonus up-front, so he has already been paid that money. Most of the rest of the money owned to him will come from his salary, which is steadily increasing over the first three years of his contract.
Below is a look at the year-by-year base salary breakdown of what the Falcons owe Cousins.
- 2024: $12.5 million
- 2025: $27.5 million
- 2026: $35 million
- 2027: $35 million
Cousins' base salary is guaranteed for the 2024 and 2025 NFL seasons. He also has a $10 million roster bonus in 2026 that became guaranteed five days after the start of the 2025 league year in March.
Below is a look at Cousins' year-by-year cap hits, given the structure of his deal:
- 2024: $25 million
- 2025: $40 million
- 2026: $57.5 million
- 2027: $57.5 million
If the Falcons want to move on from Cousins, they can do so following the 2025 season while absorbing a dead-cap hit of $45 million. Dead cap space typically stems from guaranteed money already paid to a player in the form of signing bonuses who is either released, traded or retires.
Kirk Cousins career earnings
Cousins has made just under $294.2 million during his career, per Spotrac.com. If he plays the remainder of his deal with the Falcons, that figure will balloon to just under $411.7 million.
Cousins presently ranks sixth all-time in career earnings among NFL contracts. Below are the five players ahead of him:
- Aaron Rodgers: $380.7 million
- Matthew Stafford: $364.3 million
- Tom Brady: $333 million
- Russell Wilson: $305.4 million
- Matt Ryan: $303.7 million