Was Redskins president Bruce Allen misleading about $53 million offer to Kirk Cousins?

Washington Redskins president Bruce Allen said Monday that the club made an offer to Kirk Cousins in May that would have included a record-setting guarantee at signing, but it became clear to the team that the quarterback preferred to play on a “year-to-year basis.”

“While we would have liked to work out a long-term contract before this season, we accept this decision,” Allen said in a statement after Washington failed to reach a long-term contract with Cousins for the second straight offseason.

Allen read his six-paragraph statement shortly after the deadline passed for the team and Cousins to strike a deal in 2017. Cousins will again play this season under the franchise tag, with a guaranteed salary of almost $24 million. The two sides can resume contract negotiations next year.

Allen said the team’s May 2 offer to Cousins included $53 million guaranteed at the time of signing. That exceeds the initial $40 million guarantee Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr received in the pact he signed last month.

Allen said Cousins’ agent did not submit a counteroffer.

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But Allen’s statement — rare because it included public comment on specifics of contract negotiations — was somewhat misleading. That initial guarantee included the $24 million the team had already committed to Cousins for 2017, so the additional guarantee was just $29 million — far less than what Cousins likely will be able to get by waiting until 2018.

Washington has the option to use the franchise tag on Cousins for a third time next year (with a guaranteed salary of more than $34 million) or could use the transition tag (with a $28 million salary and right to match any offers) to prevent him from hitting the open market, where Cousins expects to have multiple suitors.

“We remain hopeful that a long-term contract will be signed in the future,” Allen said.

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Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones