Shortly after the 2017 regular season, then Washington Redskin quarterback Kirk Cousins joined 106.7 The Fan's Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier at Jammin Java in Vienna for a two-hour forum with fans.
There, he outlined what he was looking for with his next contract, whether in Washington or elsewhere: winning culture, and a chance to succeed personally through team commitment. What he wasn't looking for was the richest contract offer.
Fast-forward nine weeks later and the talk around D.C. sports radio is that Cousins was disingenuous in his desires.
First of all, according to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Redskins traded for Alex Smith without talking to Cousins first. There was reportedly no contact between Cousins and the team after the end of the regular season, so even if he wanted to keep playing here, he had no offer to do so.
Secondly, the Vikings showed how close they are to greatness, falling one game short of the Super Bowl with Case Keenum under center. That's no knock on Keenum, who might have been the secret sauce to their success. However, football minds in Minnesota believe Cousins is a significant upgrade.
"The pitch is: Will we win football games?" Cousins told the Minnesota media on Thursday. "And the answer here is I believe we will. I believe the pieces are in place. I'm really excited about the potential that exists here."
As a result, they committed to Cousins in a historically significant way.
Cousins has a modest three-year deal, but one that pays him a record $84 million guaranteed. That's uncharted territory, as second place is now Matthew Stafford at $60.5 million. The 100 percent guaranteed is also off the charts, as no other veteran quarterback (not on his rookie deal) is guaranteed to earn every penny of his deal.
This is the type of contract that could forever change football negotiations and underscores the team's commitment to the player.
More importantly, it wasn't even the biggest offer on the table.
For weeks, the New York Jets were rumored to be offering upwards of $150 million (non-guaranteed) in a deal that would have set the record for the biggest possible payday.
Cousins' agent Mike McCartney used the introductory press conference to explain how that wasn't the deciding factor.
"We didn't take the best offer," McCartney told reporters. "Not even close."
"Two things I kept saying to Kirk: money is important; contract is important. But I want you on a daily basis to jump out of bed excited to go to work, to go into a building that has a great culture and a chance to win.
"But at the same token, at the end of the day, I want you to get excited to go home where your wife and family are flourishing and if we can find both of those I think we've done our job."
Cousins wanted to win, so he went to a place where they have a recent history of winning. He wanted a team that would commit to him for more than one season, so he went to a place that committed to him for three years. He wanted a place to put down roots for his family, so he picked a culture that allows him to be a family man. He wanted to maximize his earnings, so he found a way to do that without jeopardizing the other factors.
If all that makes him disingenuous, then he can probably live with that.