How Kirk Cousins' $172M Raiders Contract Works, Updated Salary Cap in NFL Free Agency

Kirk Cousins' negotiating skills remain strong after agreeing to a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, even if the initial reporting of a five-year, $172 million contract was dramatically overstated.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Cousins will earn a fully-guaranteed $20 million in 2026 with a team option for an additional two years and $80 million.

Schefter noted the Falcons are still on the hook for $8.7 million of Cousins' 2026 salary after releasing him last month, with the Raiders paying him $1.3 million and a $10 million roster bonus on the third day of the 2027 league year.

The Raiders entered the day with $23.5 million in cap space.

Putting it all together, the Raiders are paying Cousins a total of $11.3 million for one year.

It could end up being significantly more than that if the Raiders keep Cousins on the roster beyond this season with this contract structure, but the odds of that happening would seem low given that everyone anticipates they will select Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

The addition of Cousins does raise the question of who will be starting for Las Vegas in Week 1.

Given that Sean McVay was publicly campaigning this week for Cousins to sign with the Los Angeles Rams to be Matthew Stafford's backup, it's not unreasonable to assume the Raiders at least indicated he can compete to be the starter.

Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak told reporters on Tuesday that "ideally" a rookie wouldn't have to start in Week 1 as a rookie because "you'd love him to be able to learn behind somebody."

One of the reasons Mendoza might not be ready to step in right away is the offense he played in at Indiana. B/R's Dame Parson noted in his scouting report that Mendoza didn't have a lot of NFL throws on tape because Indiana's scheme relied heavily on RPOs.

This was also a criticism that scouts levied against Jaxson Dart coming out of Ole Miss last year. He started the 2025 season as Russell Wilson's backup with the New York Giants.

Dart looked fine when he finally took over as the starter in Week 4. He finished the year with 2,272 passing yards, 487 rushing yards and accounted for 24 touchdowns in 12 starts.

Cousins was able to rebound in eight starts with the Falcons last season after being benched for the final three games in 2024. He threw for 1,644 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions, with Atlanta going 5-3 in his starts.