As expected, Kirk Cousins has put pen to paper on a reportedly fully guaranteed contract that sends him to the Minnesota Vikings for the next three years.
The Vikings made the official announcement on Thursday afternoon.
OOOOOWEEEE!@KirkCousins8 is officially a Viking! pic.twitter.com/aMDPMtqFq1
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 15, 2018
Cousins visited with Minnesota brass last night, going out to dinner after arriving in Minnesota on the team’s private jet. After that meeting, general manager Rick Spielman said he didn’t know how the two sides wouldn’t get a deal done. He noted that Cousins’ agent was arriving on Thursday morning and that the team hoped to set up a press conference for the afternoon to announce the signing.
The Vikings are reportedly going to pay Cousins $28 million per year on a three-year deal for a total of $84 million guaranteed, making him the richest quarterback in the league on a per-year basis.
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins' 3-year, $84 million contract, per source, fully guaranteed, with no-trade and no-transition tag provisions.
$3 million signing bonus
2018: $22.5 million base, $500K workout
2019: $27.5 million base, $500K workout
2020: $29.5 million base, $500K workout— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 15, 2018
Kirk Cousins now officially signed to three-year, $84 million fully guaranteed contract.
One more detail: deal contains another $6 million in incentives that could boost the total value of the deal to a maximum of $90 million, per source. https://t.co/Ab2d9vMrWt
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2018
Cousins was a fourth-round pick by Washington in 2012. He emerged as the starter when things with Robert Griffin III went sideways and earned a 26-30-1 record during his tenure with the Redskins. While in Washington he completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 16,206 yards with 99 touchdowns and 55 interceptions.
Cousins is redefining the free-agency process for quarterbacks. He signed consecutive franchise tags in 2016-17 and stands to make nearly $128 million fully guaranteed from 2016 through 2020 after raking in his latest payday.
Of course, with that huge payday comes lofty expectations. The Vikings feel they are one piece away from a championship and now have landed a guy they feel can get them to that mountaintop. Others, like myself, aren’t so sure he’s capable of shouldering this responsibility.