At this point in his career, former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins would probably have to be considered a borderline Hall of Famer at best, wouldn't you say?
To his credit, the four-time Pro Bowler has racked up some solid numbers over the course of his 14-year career, completing 66.7 percent of his passes, good for the seventh-best clip of all time, and throwing for 44,700 yards, the 19th-most all-time, and 298 touchdowns, ranking him 14th.
The problem, however, is that Cousins simply hasn't been known as a proven winner.
In his 167 regular-season starts, he's gone just 88-77-2. And in four postseason starts, he's only won one of them, leading the Vikings to a 26-20 overtime win against the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round following the 2019 campaign before falling to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
So, that's certainly gonna hurt his HOF chances down the line. Eli Manning had solid stats and owns two Super Bowl rings, and still can't get in, after all.
All that said, however, Cousins' longtime agent, Mike McCartney, might deserve a bust in Canton more than his client does, as he's been able to make Kirko Chainz one of the highest-paid players in NFL history.
Former Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has already made more than $321 million in his NFL career... before his Las Vegas Raiders contract
Cousins, of course, recently signed a new five-year, $172 million deal to join the Las Vegas Raiders, but he's not going to see anywhere close to that amount of money, which we'll get back to in just a moment.
At this point in time, according to Spotrac, Cousins has collected $321,692,254, and here's what that looks like on a year-to-year basis since the team now known as the Washington Commanders took him in the fourth round of the 2012 draft with the 102nd overall pick.
Season | Team | Total Cash | Cumulative Cash |
|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Washington | $862,688 | $862,688 |
2013 | Washington | $480,000 | $1,342,688 |
2014 | Washington | $570,000 | $1,912,688 |
2015 | Washington | $824,007 | $2,736,695 |
2016 | Washington | $19,953,000 | $22,689,695 |
2017 | Washington | $23,950,935 | $46,640,630 |
2018 | Minnesota | $26,000,000 | $72,640,630 |
2019 | Minnesota | $28,000,000 | $100,640,630 |
2020 | Minnesota | $40,028,856 | $140,669,486 |
2021 | Minnesota | $21,000,000 | $161,669,486 |
2022 | Minnesota | $40,000,000 | $201,669,486 |
2023 | Minnesota | $30,000,000 | $231,669,486 |
2024 | Atlanta | $62,522,768 | $294,192,254 |
2025 | Atlanta | $27,500,000 | $321,692,254 |
Seriously, just those two years with the Falcons should get Cousins enshrined, don't you think? That's $90 million for 12 wins, 28 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions.
A few years from now, given the ridiculous amount of money that's being thrown around right now, especially to quarterbacks, Cousins' career earnings will fall dramatically on the all-time list. For now, however, he ranks third, trailing only Matthew Stafford and his new boss with the Raiders, Tom Brady. Here's a quick look at the top five, as listed by Spotrac.
- Matthew Stafford: $408,315,802
- Tom Brady: $332,962,392
- Kirk Cousins: $321,692,254
- Russell Wilson: $316,871,920
- Aaron Rodgers: $315,919,122
As we did with Cousins' career total, the numbers you see there are only through the 2025 season.
We at least know Stafford's and Cousins' will go up, but as of this writing, Wilson and Rodgers remain unsigned, as Russ is looking for a new team, while Rodgers (unbearable) is once again making the world wait to see if he's going to play one more year.
Nevertheless, let's get back to the matter of Cousins' new deal with Las Vegas.
As mentioned, while the contract says five years for $172 million, that's not happening, as this was basically built to be a one-year contract for him to serve as a bridge until Fernando Mendoza, who is undoubtedly going No. 1 overall to the Raiders in the draft in a few weeks, is ready to take over.
Cousins is set to receive just $1.3 million from Las Vegas but is also getting another $8.7 million from the Falcons, so there's $10 million, all of which is guaranteed.
The Raiders also agreed to pay him another $10 million in guaranteed money as a roster bonus on the third day of the 2027 league year. And they'll then probably just release him.
So, with that $20 million, Cousins will surpass Brady on the all-time earnings list. Now, he just needs 34 more playoff victories, and those pesky seven Super Bowl rings to catch him in a couple of other areas.