Kirk Cousins: NFL QB, Shrewd Businessman, & Jewellery Spokesperson
K. Joudry
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Since breaking into the NFL in 2012, Kirk Cousins has made a lot money. His career earnings go beyond $200 million, and that’s just considering his NFL salaries.
Off the field, we’ve seen Cousins promote gas fireplaces and televisions. He participated in a humorous clip where he explains his affinity for bottomless root beers at Applebee’s (though I assume this wasn’t a paid clip; someone in the Applebee’s marketing department should rectify this problem by bringing Cousins along as a spokesperson). He even agreed to buy a golf course in November.
At one point, an influential national analyst described him as a “cash cow.”
Kirk Cousins, Businessman
More recently, we’ve seen him partner with The Players’ Tribune and Kay Jewellers to promote a pretty snazzy Vikings necklace.
Check it out:
The video goes for close to 4 minutes, so there is opportunity for Cousins to move beyond simply promoting a product. We get to hear him discuss a close friendship from high school and how much he treasures being the Minnesota Vikings QB.
Cousins is a perpetually controversial quarterback. The source of this controversy stems from his gaudy salary cap charges. In 2022, Cousins carried the 3rd-largest cap hit in the NFL. Minnesota was trying to win the Super Bowl with a QB making 15% of the salary cap, a nearly unprecedented event.
His 10 years in the NFL make one thing certain: the man knows how to make money. In Washington, Kirk Cousins didn’t blink, betting on himself and his remarkable toughness/durability as he turned down their low offers. He then navigated free agency with aplomb, securing a monstrous fully-guaranteed deal from Minnesota. He even made a documentary to detail what the experience was like.
Since then, Cousins has secured a couple extensions. The most recent one – which was negotiated with a new GM – even gives the QB the luxury of a no-trade clause. The combination of the $48,750,000 dead cap hit for a cut and no-trade clause give Cousins essentially all the leverage over his status in the upcoming season. If he wants to be the Vikings QB, he’ll be the Vikings QB.
In a video on Yahoo’s YouTube channel from 2019, Kirk Cousins buys some grills for his offensive linemen. Given the descriptions of the Traeger BBQs and slow-motion shots of the store they were purchased from, there is a distinct possibility that #8 was getting paid for his time. Much of the video revolves around Cousins speaking to the camera, offering his thoughts and perspectives on a variety of subjects.
Unsurprisingly, money comes into focus at one point.
“I’ve never liked signing deals that are not guaranteed,” Cousins explains in the video, “I’ve always felt like that is a fake contract at that point because the player is bound to a term that the team is not.” Shortly thereafter, Cousins discusses how his negotiating comes with the understanding that pushing for a certain deal is a business move and not personal.
Shrewd businessman, indeed.
The video serves as simply one more reminder that Cousins knows what he’s doing when it comes to the business side of things.
During the past season, we saw Kirk Cousins morph into Kirko Chainz following some stellar late-game play. Perhaps the Kay Jewellers commercial should have been easy to foresee. The man with massive bling around his neck – which he’d go on to describe as “empowering” – goes on to star in a commercial where his wife gets a delicate, sparkling necklace with a Vikings pendant.
Love him or hate him, there’s really no denying what has been obvious for a long time: Kirk Cousins knows how to make money.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, Spotrac, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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