When Kirk Cousins signed a three-year, $84 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings in March 2018, the deal was met with immediate backlash. An underwhelming debut season for Cousins in Minnesota only caused those voices to grow louder.

However, Cousins bounced back with a strong 2019, resulting in the Vikings handing him a two-year, $66 million extension.

Now, the veteran quarterback is the NFL's highest-paid player, according to Forbes. He also ranks ninth among all professional athletes in pay, having made $60.5 million between his contract and endorsements in 2019.

Cousins is coming off of a 2019 campaign in which he threw for 3,603 yards, 26 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 69.1 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 107.4 en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.

Of course, it wasn't always easy for Cousins this past season.

The 31-year-old got off to a very rough start over his first several games, frustrating wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs and drumming up debates as to whether or not he should be benched.

Cousins then responded by playing himself into the MVP conversation in October and eventually leading Minnesota to 10 wins, a playoff appearance and a thrilling Wild Card Round victory over the New Orleans Saints in which he threw the game-winning score in overtime.

However, even with his strong performance this past year, the fact that he raked in more dough than any other NFL player in 2019 is likely to raise a whole lot of eyebrows.

Cousins spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Washington Redskins.