Raiders managed to stick the Falcons with $8.7 million in Kirk Cousins 2026 pay
Raiders bumped Cousins from $10 million to $20 million, while paying only $11.3 million of it.
Like Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins was cut despite having fully-guaranteed money for 2026. Unlike Tagovailoa and Murray, Cousins's $10 million guarantee was less than his market value. The Raiders have nevertheless found a way to get Cousins for the $1.
3 million minimum in 2026, and to stick the Falcons with the $8. 7 million balance. Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, whose compensation tweet starts with the worthless assertion that Cousins " will sign a five-year, $172 million deal ," the Falcons will pay Cousins $8.
7 million this year, the Raiders will pay $1. 3 million, and the Raiders will pay a fully-guaranteed $10 million roster bonus in 2027. It seems too easy, too convenient.
Cousins's market value was $20 million. The Raiders found a way to get him there by making the Falcons pay $8. 7 million of it.