“Kirk Cousins – New York Jets – 5 years, $140 million, $95 million guaranteed The Jets have just under $75 million in available cap space, so money is not an issue. They were surprisingly competitive in 2017 with perhaps the weakest group of quarterbacks in the league, and they need to make a splash in the NFL’s No. 1 media market to stay relevant. After using a fourth-round pick on Bruce Petty and a second on Christian Hackenberg, and to this point seemingly missing, throwing a top-five pick at the wall now seems unlikely if it can be avoided. Matt Stafford is the second-highest-paid player in the league with a $135 million deal — $2.5 million less than Jimmy Garoppolo’s new total dollars — but Stafford received $92 million guaranteed, whereas Garoppolo was promised $74.1 million. This deal with the Jets would make Cousins the highest-paid player in the league. With the exception of Brees, he is clearly the most deserving in this group of the biggest deal.”
