Kirk Cousins Gets Paid

At the end of the day, we all know football is a business. And business is business. And when it comes to the business of football, Kirk Cousins is elite. He's a good quarterback, but he's a legendary businessman. Absolutely nobody swings that hammer when they've got it like Kirk.

Say what you will about his quarterbacking, personally I think he’s a very good QB who can still help a team compete and is about to help the Falcons compete. But here’s what’s not up for debate… the dude can make a deal like no other. He's a very good football player, but he's the ultimate leverage player. 

When it comes to the negotiation table, the man is basically all-time great. Sure, he makes plays, but what he really makes is BANK. Usually we talk about mobile QBs, this dude is the first MOGUL QB. This man's signature move is writing his signature down on massive guaranteed contracts. And Kirk just pulled his signature move once again. 

Four years, $180 mil, with $100 mil guaranteed to take his talents to the ATL. Congrats Atlanta, you got your guy. And congrats Kirk Cousins, you got that paper... again. 

Since Kirk's rookie deal, he’s signed guarantees of $19.95 mil, $23.9 mil, $84 mil, $66 mil, $35 mil and now $100 million dollars at age 35. That’s a lot of paper. And if he makes it to the end of this contract and collects all of this paper, it will put him over $400 mil in career earnings. You know who likes that? Kirk likes that. 

And I like Kirk for the Falcons. Yes, it’s a lot of money for a 35 going on 36 year old QB coming off an Achilles injury. It’s a ton of money. And I’m not saying it comes with no risk. I’m saying it’s an aggressive, win-now swing worth taking. 

This team needed a QB. We all know they have some other really nice pieces. And we all know they have a very exciting new head coach. But the glaring, gaping hole for Atlanta was the one under center. Remember, Raheem Morris said it right on this show, the QB situation was always the elephant in the room. 

Raheem also dropped this very true gem at the Combine… he wouldn’t even have the job if the team had a QB. 

The man is not wrong. And Raheem clearly wants to make sure that the QB isn’t the reason he loses this job too. So he and Terry Fontenot made an aggressive move for the best available option. And they didn’t take no for an answer. And now suddenly there’s a whole new vibe in the ATL and in the NFC South.

We all know that’s a winnable division. And we all saw the team that just won that division go win a playoff game too. That’s what the Falcons are thinking right now. That’s how they justify this move and this investment. And I respect it.

They could have punked out and taken Renegade Russet on the cheap. They could have gone with a half measure and made a trade for Justin Fields. But they took a big swing, they gave their fans something to get legitimately fired up about, they essentially went all in.

Remember when Jerruh said he was all in? 

Yeah well the Cowboys were the only team in the NFL to sit on their hands and DO absolutely nothing yesterday. That's Jerruh's idea of all in. The Falcons idea of all in, on the other hand, looks much different. 

They just went and brought in the top QB available and refused to take no for an answer. They just nailed their head coach hire. They have talented playmaking pieces. They have an owner who wants to win. And they just made an ASS division a lot more interesting.

So where does that leave the Vikings? That leaves the Vikings with Sam Darnold. And Vikings fan, I know… I know that’s not news anyone was hoping for this week. I know that’s a kick in the stick. Just imagine how Justin Jefferson feels right now.

But it’s only a one year deal. And you’re getting a dude who just went through Junior Lobster QB rehab, and he’s reunited with his former mentor Josh McCown who’s the QB coach in Minnesota. The guy has always had upside and we haven’t seen his best in the NFL yet, maybe it finally comes out for the Vikings.  And or maybe the Vikings move up and take a big swing in the draft. I get that they were only to go so far negotiating with cousins: I can respect that.  I can respect them saying that’ just a number we weren’t’ willing to pay.  Just as I respect the Falcons saying, whatever it takes, get it done: we’re not going 7-10 again. We’re not missing the playoffs again. We have the skill guys we need. We have an expensive offensive line.  We have a bolstered defense.  We have the head coach we need.  In short, we have everything we need to win this division, get into the postseason and possibly advance. Everything except a bleeping qb. And now they have that.  Did they over pay? Maybe. Is it a risk?  Absolutely but the bigger risk was in not doing everything they could to get the best available quarterback that can help them win right freaking now. That’s what they did. And I don’t like that, kirk, actually I love it.

Or maybe Darnold is just a bridge to a draft pick. It's hard to really tell the Vikings plan right now because I'm sure the Vikings are totally solid on their own plan right now. Their plan was Kirk Cousins. But Kirk's plan was the same plan Kirk always has... Kirk's plan is always GET PAID. Get paid first, ask questions later. That's the only way you become the ultimate NFL businessman.