Washington Redskins offered Kirk Cousins most guaranteed money for quarterback in NFL history

Bruce Allen wanted to make sure that the Washington Redskins faithful were aware of the details of the contract the team offered to Kirk Cousins.

Another deadline has passed in the Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins saga. This time, the second extension deadline for Cousins has expired, and he will be forced to play yet another season on the franchise tag. Though both sides are happy to see Cousins on the tag, there is no doubt some disappointment that a long term deal was not agreed upon.

According to a statement made by Bruce Allen, via NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Allen confirmed that the Redskins had in fact offered Cousins the most guaranteed money for a quarterback in NFL history. That total would have been $53 million, with $72 million guaranteed for injury. While those numbers will make some question why Cousins didn’t agree to the deal, there is a simple answer.

While the guaranteed money in the contract was very high, the incentive based portion was lacking. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Cousins’ deal was closer to that of Joe Flacco‘s than it was to Derek Carr’s.

While this contract was once fair, the quarterback market has evolved. I actually had long argued that the Redskins should have signed Cousins to a five year, $110 million extension, but it was clear that would not happen once Carr’s deal was signed. Carr’s deal, coupled with Andrew Luck‘s massive extension from a couple years back, revolutionized the market and have made virtually any competent quarterback who can lead a team to the postseason worth $25 million per year. The Redskins came up $3 million short of that number.

These numbers show that the Redskins and Cousins are still further apart in negotiations than many would like. The Redskins are going to have to pony up and pay Cousins at least $25 million per year if they want to keep him, provided that he does not regress in 2017. Even still, Cousins will be able to start a massive bidding war in the 2018 offseason, as the Redskins will not tag him again for the price of $34 million.

Next: What the Redskins should do with Kirk Cousins

For now, Cousins is the Redskins quarterback. That could change, or things could improve in negotiations. There’s no knowing what will happen. And so the saga continues.