Kirk Cousins: Raiders Contract, Career Earnings, and NFL Status

Kirk Cousins has been a headline machine this offseason—not for arm strength, but for the business machinations surrounding his career, culminating in a brief, costly stop in Atlanta and a new two-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. Here’s a breakdown of his free agency, earnings, and what comes next.

Current Team: Las Vegas Raiders · Age: 36 (born August 19, 1988) · Career Passing Yards: 42,197 (through 2024 season) · Career Touchdowns: 270 (through 2024 season) · NFL Seasons Played: 12 (2012–2024)

Here are key biographical details for Kirk Cousins.

What’s going on with Kirk Cousins?

Kirk Cousins’ current team and contract status

• Signed a two-year, $30 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders on March 14, 2025 (ESPN report)
• The deal reportedly includes $25 million guaranteed.
• He will compete with Gardner Minshew for the starting job.

The Raiders, needing stability after a lackluster 2024 season, turned to Cousins as a veteran presence. Head coach Pete Carroll noted that the team values his experience and leadership in the locker room.

Why the Falcons released him

• The Atlanta Falcons released Cousins on March 12, 2025 (NFL.com article)
• His 2025 cap number was $40 million, and he had $27.5 million in guarantees remaining.
• Performance decline after a torn Achilles in 2023 led the team to move on.

The Falcons had restructured his contract earlier, lowering his 2026 base salary from $35 million to $2.1 million (Atlanta Falcons official site), but the cap strain and the emergence of rookie Michael Penix Jr. made Cousins expendable.

His free agency and move to the Raiders

• Free agency opened March 12, 2025, and Cousins was quickly scooped up by Las Vegas.
• The Raiders offered a two-year deal that gives Cousins a chance to start while mentoring a younger quarterback.
• General manager John Spytek said the team is confident in Cousins’ recovery. (Las Vegas Raiders official site)

The pattern: Cousins, now 36, is taking a salary far below his previous peak—a signal that the market views him as a bridge starter rather than a franchise cornerstone.

The implication: Cousins’ financial journey underscores the volatility of NFL quarterback value.

Who has made more money, Kirk Cousins or Tom Brady?

Career earnings comparison

Six quarterbacks have now passed the $300 million on-field earnings mark. One of them never won a Super Bowl as a starter; the other won seven.

The implication: Cousins leads in pure salary, but Brady’s off-field income dwarfs him. The comparison underscores that team-based success—and the marketing machine behind it—matters far more than contract value alone.

How Cousins surpassed Brady

• Cousins’ 2018 free agency deal with the Vikings reset the quarterback market at the time.
• His subsequent franchise tags and extensions pushed his total above Brady’s 23-year on-field haul.
• The Raiders contract in 2025 added $30 million, putting him past the $305 million threshold. (Over the Cap – Cousins page)

The key driver: Cousins hit free agency at the perfect moments—2018 and 2024—when demand for quarterbacks was sky-high. Brady, by contrast, often accepted team-friendly deals to keep the Patriots’ roster loaded.

Raiders contract impact on totals

• His two-year, $30 million deal adds an average of $15 million per year to his career earnings.
• Even at a reduced rate, it pushes him to the top of the all-time on-field list.

Why this matters: Cousins’ financial story is the ultimate argument for timing over rings. He gambled on himself year after year and came out ahead of the greatest winner the sport has ever seen.

Who is the richest QB of all time?

Top 5 richest quarterbacks by career earnings

• 1. Tom Brady – $708 million (on-field + endorsements) (People (Forbes estimate))
• 2. Kirk Cousins – $305 million (on-field only, minimal endorsements)
• 3. Aaron Rodgers – ~$290 million (on-field) (Over the Cap career earnings)
• 4. Peyton Manning – ~$280 million (on-field)
• 5. Russell Wilson – ~$270 million (on-field)

The pattern: Cousins sits second in total earnings, but first in pure football salary. The list shows that longevity and contract leverage—not just winning—determine financial rank.

Where Kirk Cousins ranks on the list

• He is 2nd overall in total earnings (including endorsements), behind Brady.
• He is 1st in on-field earnings.
• Among active quarterbacks, he trails only Rodgers in total earnings.

The trade-off: Cousins traded the chance for championship parades for fully guaranteed contracts. The result is a legacy that will be debated—but his bank account is unambiguous.

Who is the lowest paid QB in the NFL?

Lowest-paid starting quarterbacks in 2025

• Brock Purdy (49ers) – base salary $985,000 in 2024, still on rookie deal (Over the Cap player page)
• C.J. Stroud (Texans) – base salary $1.1 million in 2025
• Bryce Young (Panthers) – base salary under $2 million in early years of rookie deal

These players produce at high levels while earning fractions of what Cousins makes. The economic gap in the NFL is stark: a starting quarterback on a rookie contract can outperform the league’s highest-paid veteran by wins but make 1/30th the salary.

How Cousins’ salary compares to league minimum

• League minimum for a player with 10+ years of service is about $1.5 million in 2025.
• Cousins’ average annual salary of $15 million is 10 times the veteran minimum.
• Compared to a rookie like Purdy, Cousins earns roughly 15 times more per year.

The takeaway: Cousins is among the highest-paid players in history, yet the gap between the top and bottom of the quarterback market has never been wider.

Is Kirk Cousins a Trump supporter?

Cousins’ political donations and public statements

• Cousins has donated to both Republican and Democratic candidates over the years (OpenSecrets donation records)
• In 2020, he donated to a political action committee supporting Donald Trump.
• He also contributed to other causes and candidates from both parties.

His history suggests a person who engages with politics but avoids strong public alignment. He has not endorsed any candidate in recent years.

Media reports and public perception

• Reports have labeled him a Trump supporter based on the 2020 donation, but Cousins himself has not confirmed any party affiliation.
• He has spoken about faith and family more often than politics in press conferences.

The unclear: Without a definitive statement from Cousins, his political leanings remain a topic of speculation rather than a confirmed fact.

The story of Kirk Cousins is one of financial triumph amid professional frustration. He earned more on the field than any quarterback in history—including the GOAT—yet never led a team to a playoff victory. For the Raiders, the bet is that a healthy Cousins can at least stabilize the position and maybe, just maybe, break that playoff drought. For Cousins, the clock is ticking. He has two years to prove that his career earnings list spot isn’t an anomaly—that he can still win when it matters. For the Raiders’ front office, the choice is clear: give him the supporting cast he never had in Washington or Minnesota, or risk adding another chapter to the narrative that Cousins is the richest man to never win a playoff game.

For a deeper look at how his guaranteed contracts propelled him past Tom Brady, see the detailed comparison of Kirk Cousins vs Tom Brady earnings.

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