The Falcons’ decision to pay Kirk Cousins $180 million over four years elicited polar opposite reactions.
On the one hand, he’s toward the end of his career, coming off an Achilles injury, and hasn’t had much success in the postseason. On the other side, he is a significant upgrade over Desmond Ridder, propelling the Falcons to the top of the NFC South standings.
It’s evident Atlanta considers itself a contender. What was most essential about the contract was its structure, which can be viewed as a two-year agreement. Cousins’ contract with the Falcons includes cap hits of $25 million this year, $40 million next year, and $57.5 million over the next two seasons.
If Atlanta were to release him after two seasons, they would incur $25 million in dead cap hits in 2026 and $12.5 million in 2027, resulting in cap savings of $32.5 million and $45 million. According to OverTheCap, if they part ways with him after three seasons, they will incur only $12.5 million in dead money while saving $45 million in 2027.
If you ask Cousins himself, he intends to play all four years and retire as an Atlanta Falcon.
“I want this to be my final stop,” he said Shaquille O’Neal. “I don’t want to do the deal; no offense, but I don’t want to play for the Suns and Celtics in the end. “I want to finish with the Heat, if you will, and be done.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the NBA, O’Neal won a Finals game with the Miami Heat in 2006 alongside Dwayne Wade before finishing with the Suns, Celtics, and Cavaliers, where he was a shadow of himself.
“My boys are 6 and 5,” Cousins said. “They’ll forget that I played in Washington. They won’t remember I played in Minnesota. They’ll remember that I played for the Falcons. And I want them to be positive recollections. So, I feel like this is the stretch where I want to end strong. People remember how you finish rather than how you started.”
The Falcons are hoping that Kirk Cousins can prove many doubters wrong, and I’m sure he’s ready to repay the team’s investment.
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