The 25-year-old signed a long-term deal with Atlanta in 2024. He has now officially replaced Kirk Cousins as the Falcons’ QB1.
Michael Penix Jr.’s contract details: What is the Falcons’ QB’s salary and how many years does he have left?
Some eyebrows were raised when the Atlanta Falcons selected 23-year-old Michael Penix Jr, the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. The move came as a surprise as only six weeks earlier, the franchise had signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal worth $180 million.
Michael Penix Jr’s contract details
For the first few months with the Falcons, Penix was Cousins’ understudy, shadowing the 36-year-old and learning from him. But that all changed in the 2024 season when coach Raheem Morris confirmed that the Washington graduate would be his starting QB.
Fast forward to the 2025 season and the Atlanta Falcons are 2-2 and will face the might Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football tonight.
In 2024, Penix Jr. signed a four-year fully-guaranteed rookie contract worth $22.8 million. The deal included a $13,461,916 signing bonus and an average annual salary of $5,720,659. This year, he is earning a total of $5.2 million with his base salary plus signing proration, roster and workout bonus.
The more I sit with it, the more I think Michael Penix Jr.'s performance Sunday vs. Washington was special. Ceiling is so high. Final piece is consistency.
— Will McFadden (@willmcfadden) October 2, 2025
This play in particular could be a sign of things to come for MPJ and Kyle Pitts. A lot of trust here & a great win by KP. pic.twitter.com/wVmoAjtxOK
Penix showed early promise at Indiana
The 25-year-old picked up the prestigious Maxwell Award in 2023 for being the best all-round college player of the year. Penix Jr. and the Huskies finished the regular season 13-0. The team’s run in the CFP playoffs ended with a 34–13 defeat to Michigan in the semi-finals.
He was also among the finalists for the Heisman Trophy, coming second in voting to LSU’s Jayden Daniels.
Michael Penix Jr.: 2,378 passing yards on 10+ yard throws
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 29, 2022
Ranks 1st in the Power 5🎯✅ pic.twitter.com/zd7GR97zjZ
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Penix led the FBS with 4,903 passing yards in 2023 and ended second the year before with 4,641. He is the first player with 4,500+ passing yards in consecutive seasons since Patrick Mahomes (4,653 in 2015 and 5,052 in 2016 for Texas Tech).
Penix has also had his fair share of injuries over the years. In October 2018 his freshman year with the Hoosiers was cut short by an ACL tear. The following year, he was sidelined with a dislocated sternoclavicular joint in his non-throwing shoulder. In 2020, he retore his ACL in Indiana’s 11-27 win against Maryland.
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