$180,000,000 QB Kirk Cousins gives reality check on NFL contracts in comparison to NBA: “It’s all fake money”

Despite signing a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, Pro Bowl quarterback Kirk Cousins will continue his career with a third NFL team. Although the amount is substantial, he revealed that his deal is similar to many other contracts in the NFL.

During the April 4 episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,”Cousins discussed the differences between NFL and NBA contracts, stating:

“I” ve always been about structure [of the contract]. Because in basketball, I think the contracts are guaranteed. Football it’s not the case. No [there’s no guarantee]. It’s all fake money… You basically sign one-to-two-year deals, a nice, nice contract. But then there’s these fake numbers afterwards.”

Cousins’ mention of fake numbers encompasses tactics such as contract restructuring, which involves a team converting a player’s base salary into a signing bonus in order to free up cap space. Another strategy is adding void years to a contract, which allows for the cap hit to be spread out over a longer period of time.

Similarly, NFL contracts include additional rewards for attending workouts, holding a spot on the roster, and performing well during games. As a result, a player experiencing a less successful season may not receive these extra bonuses.

Kirk Cousins stated:

“What it does is it makes everybody come into work and grind their tails off because even the highest paid guys are like, ‘If I don’t deliver, I’m gone.’ So there’s like a healthiness to that… But at the same time, you know, it’s not player friendly.”

Despite signing a $180 million deal, the Atlanta Falcons only guaranteed $100 million to their player. This amount comprises of a $50 million signing bonus, a $12.5 million salary for 2024, and a $27.5 million base salary for 2025. If he remains with the team until the fifth day of the 2025 league year, he will also receive a $10 million roster bonus.

Additionally, Kirk Cousins’ contract with Atlanta also includes $10 million roster incentives for 2026 and 2027. Fortunately, he has a no-trade clause in his contract which serves as a safety net. However, after taxes and other fees are deducted, his overall earnings are reduced, thereby diminishing his actual take-home pay.

On the other hand, NBA players receive contracts that are fully guaranteed. At the forefront is Jaylen Brown’s five-year, $286.23 million contract with the Boston Celtics, which surpassed Nikola Jokic’s five-year, $276.1 million deal as the highest valued contract in the NBA.

The difference prompted Kirk Cousins to express his wish for NFL contracts to be organized similarly to those in the NBA.

“The NBA stuff we wish was true of ours is that if you play 10 years in the NBA, lifetime medical. For us, it’s basically no matter how long you play, you’ll get medical insurance for like five years after I’m done playing this over.”

The Impact of Fully Guaranteed Contracts in the NFL: A Look at Kirk Cousins’ Historic Deal

In March 2018, the Minnesota Vikings offered Kirk Cousins a groundbreaking contract worth $84 million, fully guaranteed for three years. This deal was not only the first of its kind in the NFL, but also the most lucrative at the time. As of 2022, Cousins has signed another fully guaranteed contract with the Vikings, this time for one year and worth $35 million.

Despite this, it became less common for quarterbacks to receive straight-up contracts with no contingencies. One of the few exceptions was Deshaun Watson, who became the second quarterback to sign such a contract. After being traded from the Houston Texans, he signed a five-year, $230 million contract extension with the Cleveland Browns.

Finally, although Lamar Jackson did not receive a fully guaranteed contract as he had hoped, the Baltimore Ravens still provided him with a substantial amount of security by offering $185 million in total guarantees as part of his five-year, $260 million extension.

At the time, it was the most lucrative contract in the NFL based on its annual average value, until Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow inked extensions with their respective teams.