Cousins wants to stay with Vikings for 'a long, long time'

On paper, Kirk Cousins' contract with the Minnesota Vikings is only for three years - but the message behind the fully-guaranteed deal has the quarterback wanting more.

At his introductory press conference Thursday, the 29-year-old made it clear that he doesn't expect his latest contract to be his last with the Vikings.

"As Rick said yesterday, this is a lifetime deal," Cousins said, according to ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "That's the goal. This is a three-year deal but the expectation from both sides is we raise our kids here and then if everything goes as planned that I'd be here for a long, long time."

Cousins and his agent Mike McCartney have been working toward negotiating the first fully-guaranteed contract for a veteran quarterback the past three years. Vikings general manager Rick Speilman recognized that it would be worth giving him that deal to land a franchise quarterback.

"If you have an opportunity to go out and potentially get a franchise quarterback or a quarterback that's going to be leading you for years to come," Spielman said. "He's right now in the prime of his career. Our history tells us if we hit on a player, we're going to do everything we can to keep that player here. Especially at that quarterback position. That's why this was so unique.

"The fully guaranteed part, I know it's the first time, but also when you have an opportunity to get a potential franchise quarterback, you know where the leverage is going. We respected that and I respected that."