The Minnesota Vikings quarterback has certainly cashed in during his NFL career.
Before Kirk Cousins hit free agency in 2018 and eventually signed with the Minnesota Vikings, he had a goal to set a new standard for players in the NFL and land a fully-guaranteed contract. Cousins was actually able to do this as he and the Vikings agreed to a three-year deal that included $84 million in fully-guaranteed money.
This offseason, Minnesota and their quarterback agreed to an extension worth $66 million that will keep him on the roster until 2023. By the end of next season, Cousins will have earned more than $140 million in his NFL career.
Whether or not people think he’s been worth the money he’s made, some credit has to be given to the quarterback for figuring out how to get paid as much as he has despite only having one playoff victory since entering the league in 2012.
No NFL player has made more money than the Minnesota Vikings quarterback during the last year.
Forbes.com recently revealed the list of the highest-paid athletes in the entire world from June 1, 2019 to June 1, 2020 and Cousins has the highest spot on the list of any current NFL player. The Vikings quarterback ranks ninth on the list, behind guys like LeBron James, Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Some other NFL players who also appeared on the list with Cousins included Carson Wentz (10th), Jared Goff (15th), Tom Brady (21st), Drew Brees (22nd), Julio Jones (26th), Grady Jarrett (37th), Michael Thomas (39th), Aaron Rodgers (45th), and Matt Ryan (47th).
Cousins has only played two seasons in Minnesota, but he’s already made more money ($54 million) than any other current member of the Vikings has during their entire pro careers. If he plays out the rest of his current deal with Minnesota, the veteran quarterback will add more than $95 million to his career earnings total.
Cousins has faced a lot of criticism during his career for not being able to lead his teams to success. But that changed last season when he was able to help the Vikings advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.
With the extension they gave him this year, Minnesota is hoping that Cousins will be able to lead the franchise to even more success during the next few seasons.