Report: Redskins' Cousins wanted $44M fully guaranteed at signing

After a breakout 2015, Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins wanted to get paid.

Now we know exactly how much he was looking for.

Cousins was asking for a long-term deal that contained $44 million in fully guaranteed money, sources told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

There is logic behind the number. Cousins will earn $19.95 million in 2016 under the exclusive franchise tag, and if the Redskins opt to use it on him again in 2017, the tag would cost just under $24 million (with the 20-percent raise for a second year).

The two numbers combined equal roughly Cousins' asking price, and the quarterback had little incentive to take less money than what he'd be owed under two consecutive franchise tags.

However, the Redskins apparently didn't come close to meeting Cousins' demands, with their last offer to him reportedly worth $16 million annually with $24 million in guarantees.

That offer came in February. After the Philadelphia Eagles signed Sam Bradford and the Houston Texans signed Brock Osweiler to big-money deals, Washington never upped its offer.

The guaranteed money asked for by Cousins would have placed him close to the top-10 among quarterbacks, around the same guaranteed money Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan received in their latest extensions.

The Redskins' approach was motivated by the desire to not commit to Cousins too early.

If the former fourth-round pick performs in 2016 but still continues to ask for Washington to break the bank, the team could look to tag him again while searching for a replacement of equal skill, but who'd command a far smaller price tag, notes Florio.