Quality quarterbacks are one of the rarest commodities in the NFL. That's why good starting quarterbacks almost never become unrestricted free agents. Most teams give them contract extensions before or during their contract year. is the exception. He has spent the last two seasons with the playing under franchise tags. There was speculation that Cousins would be designated a franchise player for a third and final time at almost $34.5 million. Redskins senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams shot down the notion last week in a media se sion at the NFL combine.Cousins will be the litmus test for the value of a good, healthy quarterback in his prime hitting the open market. In three seasons as a full-time starter in Washington, Cousins averaged nearly 4,400 pa sing yards, 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 67 percent of his pa ses for a 97.5 pa ser rating. His completion percentage and pa ser rating rank third and sixth, respectively, in the NFL Evan Neal Jersey over the last three years. The Redskins had a 24-23-1 record with Cousins under center.Here's a look at the financial benchmarks of key contract metrics that should be relevant for Cousins during free agency. Average yearly salaryThis is the most popular contract measure with the general public. It is also the least important because of the lack of security in NFL contracts.TeamYear signedAvg. salaryContract packageContract length2018$27,500,000$137,500,0005 years2017$27,000,000$135,000,0005-year extension2017$25,025,000$125,025,0005-year extension2016$24,594,000$122,970,0005-year extensionProfe sionals within the industry (agents and team negotiators) typically value deals by new money. New money is the amount of compensation in a contract, excluding what a player was Darius Slayton Jersey scheduled to make before receiving a new deal. For example, Carr had one year left on his rookie contract with a $977,519 base salary when he got his new deal last June. Although he signed a six-year contract for $126,002,519, it is considered as a five-year, $125.025 million contract extension with a new money average of $25.005 million per year among industry profe sionals. Carr's remaining 2017 base salary for $977,519 was subtracted from the 126,002,519 six-year total to arrive at this number.First-year cashFront-loading is one of the aspects of a contract indicating a player-friendly structure. It is a nece sity because NFL contracts aren't fully guaranteed. Salary deferrals are a common occurrence in the most lucrative NFL contracts. Typically, when a player has a large signing bonus in his contract, he doesn't receive a portion of the money until the next calendar year. Large signing bonuses are broken into two to four installments rather than paid in a lump sum regardle s of whether all of the money is received in the same calendar year the deal was made.Players deferring money has been a standard practice in the NFL for quite some time. The seven-year, $98 million contract signed with the Colts in March 2004, which made him the NFL's highest paid player (by average salary), included a $34.5 million signing bonus, while $18.5 million of the $34.5 million wasn't paid to Manning until the following March. didn't receive the final $5 million of the $30 million signing bonus in his 2013 contract renegotiation with the until February 2015.TeamYear signed1st-year Lawrence Taylor Jersey salaryDeferred amount1st-year actual cashPayment date2013$40,000,000None$40,000,000N/AMatthew StaffordLions2017$51,000,000$16,500,000$34,500,0002/15/2018Jimmy Garoppolo49ers2018$42,600,000$10,000,000$32,600,0002/15/20192015$37,500,000$5,500,000$32,000,0003/15/2016Andrew LuckColts2016$44,000,000$14,000,000$30,000,0003/31/2017Stafford set an NFL record with his $50 million signing bonus. The previous mark was held by quarterback , who got a $40 million signing bonus as a part of his 2016 extension for three years worth $66.4 million ($22,133,333 per year).Three-year cash flowA cash flow analysis looks at a player's compensation under a deal in its totality. The concept of new money is irrelevant in this metric. The focus is on the amount of money received in the first three years of a contract regardle s of whether it's considered as new money.TeamYear signedThree-year cash flowMatthew StaffordLions2017$87,000,000Jimmy Garoppolo49ers2018$87,400,000Andrew LuckColts2016$75,000,000First three new years compensationThis is a different metric than cash flow in James Bradberry Jersey the first three years of a deal. The new years approach focuses on the amount of money in a contract exclusive of what a player was scheduled to make before receiving a new deal, just like with new money when determining average yearly salary. The difference in the two metrics can be illustrated with Carr's five-year extension. His cash flow in the first three years (2017-2019) is $67.5 million. The compensation in the first new three years (2018-2020) is $85,522,481 million. As previously mentioned in the average yearly salary section, Carr had an existing 2017 contract year with a $977,519 base salary remaining when he signed his new deal. This remaining money is subtracted from the $86.5 million four-year cash flow total to reach $85,522,581 million. Both metrics have the same dollar amount when a player signs a new contract as a free agent or when his contract is set to expire.TeamYear signedFirst three new yearsMatthew StaffordLions2017$92,000,000Jimmy Garoppolo49ers2018$86,400,000Derek CarrRaiders2017$85,522,481Andrew LuckColts2016$79,970,000Overall contract guaranteesTeams no longer do extremely lucrative deals where a signing bonus is the only form of guaranteed money. The preferred structure by a majority of teams is a contract consisting of a signing bonus and salary guarantees. The base salary in the first contract year is usually fully guaranteed (injury, salary cap and skill guarantees) at signing. Roster bonuses in the first contract year due a few days after signing are fairly common. Even though these roster bonuses technically aren't guaranteed, they are considered as a part of the guaranteed money. Salary guarantees in subsequent contract years are mainly base salary. In Mark Bavaro Jersey the most lucrative contracts, the base salary in the second contract year is typically fully guaranteed upon execution, although the general trend is for base salaries after the first contract year to be conditionally guaranteed. They are guaranteed for injury only initially but fully guaranteed if a player is on the team's roster on a particular date in each specific contract year. The date will vary from team to team but is normally within the first few days of the current league year (i.e.: 2018 base salary becomes guaranteed on third day of the 2018