Kirk Cousins holds all of the leverage in his contract situation with Washington, and the quarterback plans on using that to his advantage.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Cousins has no intention of signing a long-term deal before March 1, which is the deadline for teams to apply the franchise tag. That way, Cousins will be assured nearly $24 million for 2017 if and when Washington is forced to tag him. The two sides can then continue working on a long-term deal, if they so choose.
Cousins played under the franchise tag last season, which means he would be paid 120 percent of his previous season’s salary if he ends up playing under it again. The franchise tag paid Cousins $19.95 million in 2016, so his salary would be $23.94 million if he plays under it again next year.
As Florio explains, Cousins can demand at least $23.94 million guaranteed for 2017 if he waits until after the March 1 deadline to negotiate a long-term deal with Washington. And since he would get another 20 percent raise on his guaranteed figure for 2018 if Washington had to use the transition tag on him again next offseason, Cousins has no reason to accept less than $52.67 million guaranteed over the first two years of any long-term deal he might sign.
Washington could end up regretting not signing Cousins to a long-term deal two or three years ago, but waiting was a risk the team was willing to take. We already know there would be plenty of interest in Cousins if he hits the open market, and one report claims he might not even want to stay in Washington. If that’s the case, things could get really interesting before the July 15 deadline for actually signing the franchise tag or working out a long-term deal.
