Forbes released the top 100 highest-paid athletes of 2020. Former Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins was the highest-paid NFL player. He ranked ninth overall among all athletes.
Cousins earned $60.5 million between June 2019 and June 2020, according to Forbes.
Cousins left the Redskins in 2018, signing a three-year, $84 million, fully guaranteed deal with the Minnesota Vikings. His first year was underwhelming, but he bounced back in 2019, leading the Vikings to a playoff win over the New Orleans Saints.
Following his second season, the Vikings rewarded him with a two-year, $66 million guaranteed extension. The new deal gave him the substantial earnings for the year that included $30 million signing bonus.
In total “Captain Kirk” yielded $58 million in salary and bonuses. He earned another $2.5 million in endorsements. Those endorsements include Nike, Bose, CenturyLink and Panini.
Cousins spent six seasons with the Redskins. He supplanted Robert Griffin III as the team’s starting quarterback in 2015. He threw for a franchise-record 4,917 yards in 2016.
Cousins has three of the four highest single-season passing yards totals in Redskins history. He also led the Redskins NFC East division title in 2015. Despite all of that, Cousins and the Redskins could not agree to a extension.
After Cousins became the first quarterback in NFL history to be franchise tagged in back-to-back seasons, the Redskins let him loose to free agency in 2018. He landed the big money deal he was looking for with Minnesota. And now he is the highest-paid player in league.
