Falcons will fully guarantee the $10 million Kirk Cousins 2026 roster bonus
Executives across the NFL can't always be right.
In December, the reported belief throughout the league was that the Falcons would release quarterback Kirk Cousins before a $10 million roster bonus due in 2026 shifted from guaranteed for injury to fully guaranteed.
ESPN, which reported nearly three months ago that Cousins was expected to be released before the fifth day of the 2025 league year, now reports that the Falcons will allow today's 4:00 p.m. ET deadline for cutting Cousins to pass.
There had been a misconception in some circles that the Falcons would immediately owe Cousins $10 million. That's not the case. They owe it next year. And, if they cut him before it comes due in March 2026, they'd be entitled to offsets. And there's no reason to think he'd make less than $10 million as a free agent. Which meant the Falcons weren’t worried about it.
In other words, the supposedly very meaningful guarantee ultimately meant jack squat. They paid him $62.5 million last year. They owe him $27.5 million this year. They're not sweating the final $10 million of his $100 million in guarantees.
They can still trade him, if he'll waive his no-trade clause. And while it was smart for him to take the position that he wouldn't waive it, if he prefers to make $27.5 million this year and play (as opposed to making $27.5 million this year and not playing), he'll possibly if not probably waive it if/when an opportunity comes along to be traded to a team where he'll be the starter.
At this point, Cousins should wait until after the draft. If he's traded to a team with a hole at QB1 (Steelers, Browns, Giants) before the incoming quarterbacks are selected, he could have the same thing happen with his new team that happened to him in Atlanta last April.
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