Las Vegas Raiders fans were happy enough with the Kirk Cousins signing, as they felt it was the best possible thing for incoming rookie Fernando Mendoza. But when they learned about the details of the contract, and how much it pissed off the rest of the league, that made the deal even sweeter.
John Spytek and the Raiders' front office essentially found a loophole where they could force the Atlanta Falcons, Cousins' former team, to fork out a majority of his contract in 2026, but still pay Cousins sufficiently by adding a roster bonus at the beginning of 2027. It was a stroke of genius.
While that, alone, is enough to commend Las Vegas for, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, the Silver and Black have even more to be proud about. He pointed out another wrinkle in the deal that gives the Raiders even more flexibility and another reason to pat themselves on the back.
Las Vegas Raiders' Kirk Cousins contract looks better with every new piece of information
Pelissero appeared on The Rich Eisen Show late last week and dissected everything that went down with the Cousins signing. But then he explained another facet of the exact contract that Cousins signed, and it seems like another massive win for Las Vegas.
"Oh, by the way, the other thing that I just learned about the way this deal is structured: That additional $80 million, almost all of it is in 2028. He's on the books for a minimum salary again in 2027, of course, in addition to the $10 million roster bonus," Pelissero pointed out. "So, $78.5 (million) or whatever is pushed out into 2028. It really gives the Raiders time here to figure out exactly how they would want to proceed. All this presuming that Cousins comes in (and) plays really well. It does give some optionality, really, to both sides, because if they don't pick up the option, which I would say is most likely, then Cousins is right back in the same spot. Except this time, with no offsets, and he's a free agent again next March."
As fans may know, the Raiders have the choice to opt in to a two-year, $80 million option for Cousins next offseason, and they have to do so by the fifth day of the 2027 league year. That number certainly seems daunting, and it feels unlikely, if not impossible, that Las Vegas would pick that up.
But knowing that the financial can is being kicked down the road into 2028 makes this number less scary. Effectively, the team would pay Cousins $11.3 million next year if they want, only $1.3 million more than they initially committed to, or opt into the deal and buy time to find a trade partner.
A scenario even exists, and this is a long shot, where Las Vegas doesn't feel confident in Mendoza going into Year 2, and they need or simply want Cousins around in 2027. The way that the Raiders put this contract together allows them to go down that road and have an out or backup plan of sorts.
The most likely scenario, still, is that Cousins starts the year in 2026, Mendoza eventually relieves him, and then the Raiders part ways with the veteran quarterback next offseason and owe him $10 million. But this is an unpredictable league, and having flexibility is always critical for rebuilding teams.
That is what Las Vegas has done here: Given itself flexibility. Kudos to Spytek, Tom Delaney and the rest of the front office for finding clever ways to appease Cousins and his camp but still put the Raiders and their best interests first.
This team is in good hands, finally.