The Las Vegas Raiders capitalized on a hidden market inefficiency to land a veteran mentor for Fernando Mendoza—an under-the-radar move that could accelerate their rebuild and reshape the quarterback room.
The Raiders did not just sign Kirk Cousins. They found a way to make the Atlanta Falcons pay part of his salary, uncovered a loophole the whole league can now use, and set up their future quarterback to actually have a shot at succeeding. Not bad for a move most people did not see coming.
Here’s how the money works…
The Falcons were already on the hook for $10 million guaranteed to Cousins in 2026. So the Raiders got creative. They gave Cousins a $1.3 million salary for 2026 and a $10 million bonus due in 2027. Las Vegas ends up paying $11.3 million. Atlanta gets stuck with the other $8.7 million. Cousins walks away with $20 million, and the Falcons are paying nearly half of it without getting anything in return.
Atlanta is not happy about it, but they are not fighting it either, probably because they pulled the same trick by signing Tua Tagovailoa for $1.3 million while Miami still owes him $52.7 million.
And this loophole is not closing anytime soon. Any team can now use the same strategy when signing a player who is worth more than what his old team guaranteed him. It will not happen all the time, but the door is wide open.
The football side of this makes just as much sense as the financial side. The Raiders are expected to use the No. 1 overall pick on Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner who led the Hoosiers to a national championship. Coach Klint Kubiak has been upfront about what he wants.
“Ideally, you don’t want him to start from Day 1,” Kubiak said. “It does help the player if they can sit behind a mature adult and watch how they run the show.”
Landing the right mentor for your rookie QB…
Cousins is exactly that. Interestingly, Mendoza’s playing style gets compared to Cousins often, so this is less about buying time and more about putting the right teacher in the room. Cousins also knew exactly what he was signing up for, which was not the case in Atlanta, where the bridge quarterback role was never what he agreed to.
On top of all that, the Raiders still have Maxx Crosby. His trade to Baltimore fell apart after he failed a physical, and Kubiak did not hide how he felt about getting him back.
“We got Maxx back. Are you kidding me? Our team just got better,” Kubiak said.
The Raiders are building something with a plan behind it. Whether it all comes together is still to be determined, but at least they know what they are doing.
*Top Photo: Ramble Illustration/Getty Images