Falcons make history: 2 quarterbacks land among NFL's highest-paid ever

Kirk Cousins was the biggest free agent this offseason and thanks to a salary purge in recent years, the Atlanta Falcons were able to land him. The veteran quarterback was signed to a four-year, $180 million contract which includes $100 million guaranteed.

That $180 million contract represented the biggest total the Dirty Birds have ever handed out. Even before this year, the Falcons were used to handing out nine-figure contracts to a quarterback as they had signed Matt Ryan to one in 2013, followed by a big extension in 2018.

Needless to say, this franchise has handed out a lot of money to the most important position.

Matt Ryan, Kirk Cousins land in top ten of NFL's top career earnings at QB

Quarterbacks continue to get paid more and more money. Just a decade ago, you couldn't fathom a player in the NFL landing a contract north of $250 million but there are now seven quarterbacks making that.

Several years ago, Matt Ryan signed what was seen as a massive extension worth $150 million. Now, we see Kirk Cousins land his $180 million contract and it is considered reasonable for the team.

Nevertheless, the Falcons have paid a lot of money to signal callers. They have two players who land in the top ten in career earnings at the position.

There is an asterisk, however. The Vikings are responsible for a large part of Cousins' $281 million, with Washington representing another chunk.

However, the Falcons did pay Matt Ryan most of his career earnings. The Colts paid him about $36 million—$12 million of which came after he was released.

Ryan and Cousins will get the bulk of the attention when talking about career earnings but you can go way back to Michael Vick who landed a massive contract for his time. Arthur Blank put his trust in the first-overall pick by signing him to a record ten-year, $138 million contract in 2004. With his eventual arrest, things went to court where the team and player settled.

Cousins' ranking on that list could rise as the years go by or he could drop depending on what other teams do with their franchise passers. Cousins' new team still owes him a lot of money and if he plays well then his wallet will continue getting fatter.