Kirk Cousins May Have to Put His Money Where His Mouth Is in 2024
Sam Richardson
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Following the 2023 season’s wildly apparent quarterbacking woes, the Vikings are faced with one of the more challenging decisions when it comes to assessing the position.
It seems as though the temperature in the room surrounding Kirk Cousins has changed. To an overwhelming amount of fans out there, it seems as though the Kohl’s Cash King won’t be heading anywhere, and we are more than okay with that. However, it might be time to pump the breaks on an extension. When it comes to re-signing Cousins, the Vikings might have their backs up against the wall.
Kirk Cousins May Have to Put His Money Where His Mouth Is
Within the intricate web of the league’s CBA, Cousins and the Vikings may face a challenging path in pursuing a contract that justly compensates him.
“The contract of a Veteran Player may not be renegotiated to increase the Salary to be paid to the player during the original terms of the contract for a period of twelve months after the player’s most recent contract renegotiation. The first renegotiation of a Veteran Player Contract, however, may take place at any time.”
Due to Cousins’ previous restructuring and the layout of his current contract which include multiple void years, Kirk cannot re-sign (with the Vikings) for any more than a yearly salary of $42.5 million. I realize this is pretty confusing and above the shoulders stuff, so let me explain in layman’s terms. The Vikings can offer Kirk a lot of money, but he also can probably get more on the open market which the Vikings contractually cannot compete with.
Now, according to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah himself, his intention is to keep Cousins in the building. So, it seems as though the metaphorical ball is in Kirk’s court. We all know how much Cousins has made in the previous years. With the strong offensive chemistry, especially with JJ, and the importance of keeping his family in Minnesota, you might expect him to consider a hometown discount. I’ll never criticize a player for opting into maximizing his monetary value while they can, though.
Right now, if the Vikings did dish out the $42.5 AAV for an extension, that’d put Cousins right around the likes of Matt Stafford, Dak Prescott, and Daniel Jones in terms of monetary value in 2024.
I personally think Kirk is better than these players. However, this likely is the proper camp of individuals he will be compared to on the market. Whether Kirk Cousins feels like he deserves more, that is up to him, as he could probably attract better elsewhere (Atlanta, New England, etc.).
All in all, I do not personally know Cousins, nor do I pride myself on being a good judge of character. But, based on Cousins addressing the likelihood of a hometown discount, I think there is a good chance in him turning down some money to stay here.
He’s already proven it when he first signed here over New York, and six years of being a top-tier paid quarterback later, I’m sure he could only make the same decision. I guess at the end of the day we will have to wait and see. Kirk, time to put your money where your mouth is.
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