The Falcons kicked off the last free agency cycle with a bang, inking Jessie Bates, David Onyemata and Kaden Elliss to deals as the bell rang. Terry Fontenot did it even bigger this year, agreeing in principle to a four-year, $180 million contract with Kirk Cousins.
Many expected the deal to be around $35-40 million for two or three years, so when news broke that it would be north of $40 million over four years, Falcons fans were taken back, thinking the team overpaid.
Well, let’s dig into the details of the contract, courtesy of Jason Fitzgerald from OverTheCap.
This should be the salary cap breakdown of Kirk Cousins $180 million contract with the #Falcons https://t.co/T3p5F6UOEY
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) March 12, 2024
Cousins has his $50 million signing bonus prorated over the four years, $12.5 million each year. His base salary is $12.5 million this year, $27.5 million in 2025, and $35 million in the final two years.
He’s also got $10 million roster bonuses due on the 5th day of the 2026 and 2027 league years. He’s also got a $40 million guaranteed salary, $12.5 million in 2024 and $27.5 million in 2025.
So, in summary, the Falcons have Kirk Cousins under contract for cap hits of $25 million this year, $40 million next year, and $57.5 million in the final two seasons.
If the Falcons move off of him after two seasons, they’ll incur dead cap hits of $25 million in 2026 and $12.5 million in 2027 with $32.5 million and $45 million in cap savings, respectively. If they part ways with him after three seasons, they’ll only take on that $12.5 million in dead money while saving the $45 million in 2027.
The Falcons backloaded the deal, which will only look better in a couple of years as the league salary cap continues to rise. Moreover, if Kirk Cousins’ play falls off a cliff, moving off of the veteran won’t be financially crippling for Atlanta.
As of right now, he’s taking up less than 10% of the team’s salary cap this year, 15.4% next year, 20.2% in 2026 and 18.3% in 2027. Those are based on OverTheCap’s projections for the league’s salary cap, which are generally conservative, so the cap percentage could be even smaller.
—
Photographer: Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.