Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Kirk Cousins Matched Tom Brady in This Stat After Falcons Extension

Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Kirk Cousins was retained by the Atlanta Falcons and instead of releasing him, the Falcons decided to keep him around which has triggered his $10 million guaranteed bonus. The Falcons already have their starting caliber quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., who showed flashes of his potential playing in just 5 games last season. So the real question is, what are the Falcons keeping Cousins for?

The Falcons have a young quarterback in Michael Penix Jr., who will still need some kind of veteran quarterback leadership. Penix has only played in 5 NFL games so far and the 2024 season was his very first. Keeping Cousins could benefit Penix and the Falcons in the long run.

Cousins had signed a four-year $180 million deal with the Falcons in March of 2024, which included $100 million guaranteed. In the 2024 season, he threw for 3508 passing yards, 18 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, and had a pass completion rate of 66.9 percent. While it wasn’t the worst numbers we’ve seen for a quarterback, with Cousins as the starting QB the Falcons went 7-7. This made the Falcons bench Cousins midway through the season and we saw Penix Jr. start instead.

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Sources: The Falcons officially will be keeping QB Kirk Cousins on their roster past 4 PM eastern today, triggering a guarantee on a $10M roster bonus that is due in 2026, sources told ESPN’s Field Yates and me. pic.twitter.com/Up9vqdiGCQ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 15, 2025

Previously the Falcons wanted to move Cousins in the free agency despite the huge contract that they had given him just a year prior. He has played for 13 seasons in the NFL so far and had also previously played for the Commanders and the Vikings. While Cousins is a good quarterback who can win you some games, his best days could be over and his lack of playoff success is what has kept him from the elite QBs in the NFL conversation.

Despite Cousins’ Lack of Success, His Career Earnings Is Nearly the Same As Tom Brady

Kirk Cousins has not won a Super Bowl trophy yet but he has surely earned himself a huge bag. Despite playing only 13 seasons in the NFL, Cousins has already made $331.6 million in terms of his career earnings. Meanwhile, the NFL’s G.O.A.T Tom Brady played for 23 seasons and only earned $332.9 million.

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While Brady earned a significant amount of money throughout his NFL career, it wasn’t always the highest. If you know Tom Brady, there’s one thing he values above money and that’s winning, no matter what the cost. It is reported that Brady often prioritized team’s needs and took less pay to open up cap space for his team.

Kirk Cousins has now guaranteed himself $331.6M earned on the field across 14 NFL seasons.

Tom Brady earned $332M in 23 seasons.
— Spotrac (@spotrac) March 15, 2025

The players today get paid more nowadays because of things like increased revenue, media deals, advertisements, and various other reasons. The NFL continues to grow worldwide and the pay will only increase in the years to come.

Also Read: Aaron Rodgers Is One Step Closer to Fulfilling the Brett Favre Prophecy!

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Eric Divakaran

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I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.