{"id":863922,"date":"2026-04-11T12:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/863922\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T12:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:02:14","slug":"kirk-cousins-too-obvious-20m-deal-costs-raiders-just-1-3m-26-teams-use-the-same-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/863922\/","title":{"rendered":"Kirk Cousins\u2019 \u2018Too Obvious\u2019 $20M Deal Costs Raiders Just $1.3M\u201426 Teams Use The Same Trick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kirk Cousins<\/a> walked into Las Vegas with a five-year, $172 million contract on paper. On paper. The actual number that matters for 2026 is $20 million, fully guaranteed. The number that hits the Raiders\u2019 salary cap? Just $1.3 million. That leaves a gap of $18.7 million that somebody else covers. Somebody who didn\u2019t sign him, didn\u2019t want him, and watched him leave town months ago. The Atlanta Falcons<\/a> are still writing checks for a quarterback wearing silver and black. <\/p>\n

Atlanta\u2019s $8.7 Million Ghost<\/p>\n

The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million deal in March 2024. Six weeks later, they drafted his replacement. By January 2026, his roster bonus vested, locking Atlanta into $8.7 million in offset obligations. Then they cut him. The Raiders swooped in, signed him to the veteran minimum of $1.3 million, and offset language in the original Falcons contract forced Atlanta to cover the rest. Cousins collects $20 million guaranteed. The Falcons pay 43.5% of that salary for a quarterback suiting up for a rival.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Structure Nobody Saw Coming<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) scrambles against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

Most fans assume the salary cap is a hard ceiling. Spend $301.2 million, stop. That assumption is wrong. GM John Spytek and the Raiders\u2019 legal team structured a $10 million roster bonus for 2027 with zero offset language, meaning if Las Vegas cuts Cousins next year, he keeps every dollar. The Falcons can\u2019t reduce their liability. Albert Breer called it a \u201creally smart way to work around the offset, get the player more money and force his old team to pick up a big part of freight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe \u201cToo Obvious\u201d Trick<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

Mike Florio said it plainly: \u201cToo obvious that the Raiders came up with a way to get Cousins to $20 million while paying only $11.3 million of it.\u201d Too obvious. And yet the NFL allowed it. Not just this deal. Over the past decade, the use of void years to defer cap obligations has exploded across the league. By 2025, the majority of NFL teams carried significant deferred money on their books \u2014 a dramatic shift from a strategy that was once rare. The league watched it happen and changed nothing.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow the Hidden System Works<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

Void years are phantom contract years tacked onto the end of a deal. They exist only for cap accounting. The CBA places no explicit limit on number, duration, or total deferral amount, giving teams broad flexibility to push today\u2019s costs into tomorrow\u2019s budget. The Philadelphia Eagles used this exact mechanism to build the most talented roster in football and win Super Bowl LIX. That championship wasn\u2019t built by better scouting. It was built by better contract lawyers spreading cap hits across years that will never be played.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Numbers Behind the Curtain<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Feb 6, 2026; San Francisco, CA, USA; From left: Solomon Wilcots, Patrick Peterson, Kirk Cousins and Brian Hoyer on the Opening Drive show on the SiriusXM NFL radio set at the Super Bowl LX media center at the Moscone Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

Cousins\u2019 contract is listed at five years, $172 million. The realistic number is one year, $20 million \u2014 and the Raiders pay $11.3 million of that, with Atlanta covering the remaining $8.7 million through offset obligations. An 8.6x gap between listed and actual value. The 2026 salary cap sits at $301.2 million, the highest in league history, nearly double the $177 million cap from 2018. That 70% growth gave teams more room to defer. And defer they did. The majority of teams now carry substantial future void year obligations. The cap grew. The accounting tricks grew faster.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Ripple Hitting Other Rosters<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws a pass against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

Cousins isn\u2019t even the only released quarterback bleeding his old team dry. Tua Tagovailoa signed with Atlanta after Miami cut him, and the Dolphins still owe $54 million guaranteed in 2026. Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, Tagovailoa, Cousins: all signed minimum deals after being released, sticking former teams with the balance. The Cardinals absorbed significant offset obligations on Murray\u2019s deal. If deferred obligations across the league come due at once, rosters collapse. That\u2019s not a loophole. That\u2019s a ticking clock.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA New Rule, Not an Exception<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws a pass against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

The Cousins deal looks like a one-off exploit. It\u2019s actually the new standard. The Eagles proved void years win championships. The Raiders proved offset language can weaponize a release. NFL owners discussed changes at the 2026 annual meeting. They approved new kickoff rules and expanded replay authority. They did not close the salary cap loophole. The majority of the league uses this strategy. Once you see that number, the salary cap stops looking like a constraint and starts looking like a suggestion.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Window Before It Closes<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Dec 21, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) stands in the pocket against the Arizona Cardinals during the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

Owners will likely propose rule changes at the 2027 annual meeting. That leaves months for copycat deals. Every team with a released player carrying offset language now has a blueprint. Kirk Cousins has earned over $322 million in his career \u2014 after the Raiders deal pushes his total past $341 million, he climbs to third all-time in NFL career earnings, trailing only Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers. He will hit free agency again in 2027. The man who exposed the system could run the same play twice, and the NFLPA will fight any rule that limits contract creativity for players.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLawyers Win Championships Now<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Dec 29, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) passes over Los Angeles Rams linebacker Omar Speights (48) during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images\n <\/p>\n

The Raiders hold the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, where projected No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza is expected to sign on as the franchise quarterback. They brought in Cousins as a bridge for just $1.3 million in 2026 cap space \u2014 with the Raiders\u2019 total commitment at $11.3 million \u2014 keeping roughly $87 million in projected room to build around their rookie. That\u2019s not luck. That\u2019s a legal department outworking every front office that still thinks the salary cap is about math. The real competition in the NFL now lives in contract language, not combine times. Small-market teams that can\u2019t navigate void years aren\u2019t just losing games. They\u2019re paying for other teams\u2019 quarterbacks.<\/p>\n

Sources:
\u201cKirk Cousins\u2019 two-year, $172M Raiders deal breakdown\u201d \u2014 Tom Pelissero, NFL Network \/ X \u201cRaiders took advantage of loophole to save $8.7 million\u201d \u2014 Mike Florio, NBC Sports \/ ProFootballTalk \u201cWhat to Expect of Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins Deals\u201d \u2014 Albert Breer, Sports Illustrated \u201cNFL may change contract rule following Kirk Cousins deal\u201d \u2014 Yahoo Sports \u201cFalcons won\u2019t make a stink about the Kirk Cousins contract\u201d \u2014 Mike Florio, NBC Sports \/ ProFootballTalk \u201cKirk Cousins\u2019 Raiders contract will see him double the guarantee he had left on Falcons deal\u201d \u2014 Bolavip \/ NFL Network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kirk Cousins walked into Las Vegas with a five-year, $172 million contract on paper. On paper. The actual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":863923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,224,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-863922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-falcons","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116385974726766697","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=863922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/863922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/863923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=863922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=863922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=863922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}