Winners and losers of Kirk Cousins signing with the Atlanta Falcons

So Kirk Cousins now plays for the Atlanta Falcons? It was certainly trending in that direction in the weeks leading up to free agency. With the Minnesota Vikings not agreeing to a long-term deal before the start of the new league year, it felt like him going to Atlanta was an inevitability. He wanted to play indoors in a winnable division on a team that wants to win now with a ton of weapson. Atlanta has this.

More importantly, his wife and in-laws hail from just outside the city in Alpharetta. Atlanta is a great American city, but has long needed a quarterback to make its woebegone NFC South franchise matter. Since he has played in a similar system as what new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson will run, the transition will be seamless. Cousins also crossed paths with Raheem Morris in Washington.

So as the ink begins to dry on the contract, I am going to point out a few winners and losers from this monumental transaction in the earliest waves of free agency. Some are more obvious than others, but you have to feel bullish about the Cousins move if you have any vested interest in the Falcons, especially if you roster any of their weapons in fantasy football. Only time will tell if I am right in this.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported it will be a four-year deal worth $180 million. $100 million of that will be fully guaranteed. Cousins' average annual value of the contract will be $45 million per NFL season.

Without further ado, here are the biggest winners and losers from Cousins signing with the Falcons.

Winner: Kirk Cousins

The biggest winner here is obviously Cousins. There will be books about how he has masterfully navigated NFL free agency throughout his Hall of Very Good career. To get over $100 million fully guaranteed in the season coming off a torn Achilles is simply incredible. For him to get a four-year contract to play out his age-39 season is quite spectacular. All the pressure will be on him, though.

So many boxes were checked with Atlanta that this had to be the move for him and his family. If he can get Atlanta to have another deep playoff run or two over the next four years, Cousins will (eventually) be revered in this town. We have seen over his Minnesota and Washington career that when he has the weapons, Cousins can play at a top-eight level at the quarterback position group.

For guys that sign this early into free agency, they are obviously the biggest winners because they got tremendous compensation. Cousins had been tied to Atlanta ever since the regular season ended. Although many people thought he could play for Bill Belichick, reuniting with Raheem Morris could be swell as well. Cousins improves the Falcons by three wins easily. They are a playoff team.

If he invested his money wisely, Cousins will be a billionaire before he turns 40. Unbelievable stuff.