After claiming their first Super Bowl championship in 50 years, the Chiefs now have one of modern sports’ most important contracts to complete. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are expected to negotiate a new deal this offseason, although Clark Hunt indicated a new deal is not necessarily a lock for 2020.
The Chiefs and Mahomes are not expected to finalize anything until after the draft, according to NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero (video link). This contract will certainly make the reigning Super Bowl MVP the NFL’s highest-paid player, but the 24-year-old superstar is also cognizant of the contract’s impact on the Chiefs’ roster, per Pelissero. Following Super Bowl LIV, Mahomes said he would like to stay in Kansas City for a long time.
Kansas City has some key issues to address, in addition to Mahomes’ market-shifting deal. Chris Jones is a free agent and is a logical candidate for the franchise tag. Travis Kelce has outplayed his $9.4MM-per-year pact and may soon see George Kittle reset the stagnant tight end market. And Sammy Watkins is set to carry an untenable $21MM 2020 cap number.
A new collective bargaining agreement being finalized before the new league year begins in March also represents a key component to the Chiefs’ Mahomes negotiations. Of course, the longer the organization waits, the more the price will rise. Mahomes is set to make just $735K in base salary next season. It seems unlikely the 2018 MVP would return under those terms, even if the Chiefs have him under team control through 2021.
The Eagles and Rams extended their 2016 first-round quarterbacks after their third seasons, though the Cowboys remain in talks with Dak Prescott. Mahomes’ new deal should either approach or surpass $40MM AAV, which would then have a sweeping effect on how future quarterback negotiations unfold and reshape how future Chiefs rosters are constructed.
He’ll be worth it.
Take all of what Watkins would be owed and apply it to Mahomes.
I really think this kid can be the next Brady-type in the sense that he has a legit chance to remain elite for a long, long time. He obviously needs to be paid fairly, but if he sacrifices a bit AAV for the Chiefs to surround him with weapons, they can be the team of the 2020s. He’s worth every penny of a $40 AAV but that’s going to slam shut a window that seems wide open.
He’s so marketable off the field that he’ll still be one of the highest paid athletes on an annual basis. Keep the cap hit manageable and dominate the next decade.
Agree 100%
Good guy too
Heard Bears are going to retire his number for NOT drafting him:)
What would Brady do?
Take lower salaries so
the Patriots could surround
him with good players.
Greed is not good…..
Neither is cheating, but that’s off topic…
As far as NFL Qb salaries go… there are only 32 job opportunities for QBs…of which, 25 are considered “franchise QBs”.
Mahomes falls into a top 5 “star” category, of which he and Lamar Jackson are the tops in the foreseeable future.
In other words, they control leverage in the market.
Let’s say the average person on these boards has a $50,000 job. An NFL QB is forced into retirement by the laws of nature, whether they’re ready to quit or not… ask Peyton.
What if the government passed a labor law requiring forced retirement for all, at age 40.
…would you still be comfortable with just $50k a year? …or would you pursue a job position at $100K, $250K, $400K?
What if you were one of only 5 to 25 people in the world who could perform the job you were tasked with? …nobody else is talented enough, and you’re actually the best of all those.
Would you not use that leverage to make the most your employer could afford?…So that amount multiplied by however many years you had to work before 40… that amount was enough to live a great retirement, even after unknown inflation deflating the value of your retirement savings.
Basically… these pro athletes are rare talent, they can’t work until 65+, like the rest of us.
Remember that when your instinct is to be critical of the salaries.
Broke people love to comment on other people’s money. When Mahomes marries a super model that makes 40-50 mil a year, then maybe he should “think” about not getting paid as much, like Brady. It’s funny that Garapolo makes a ton of money, but it didn’t affect their super bowl chances.
You hack my bank, bro? My YSL collection is probably worth more than your car
Not sure Mahomes is all about being paid the most. He doesn’t have the ego of Aaron Rodgers or Ben Rothleisberger. I could see him taking less now as he seems to enjoy his teammates and gets it, it will be interesting to see what happens.
Well crazylarry, let’s see if the “aw shucks, team first” hype is really real…..
Somehow I find it unbelievable that Mahomes would hold out for more money given that he has one more year to go on his
rookie deal. Or maybe I’ve just bought into all the “gee whiz” hype.
And why does everybody forget his big upfront bonus? “Only 735K a year!!??”
What about his bonus, prorated into every year? Raises the average a bit…..
they’ll pay him whatever he wants. it’s kind of on him to choose his contract more than anything. he can max it out or take a bit less…but it that’s really his choice at this point. The Chiefs will just have to make decisions based on what Pat wants to do
Or trade him away with his impossible $40 million cap demands for three first round draft picks.
I think I’d rather be holding a first round draft quarterback in his second season with the $40 million in cap space if I wanted to win the Super Bowl.
Something like what the Chiefs had this year, eh? Super Bowl winners, you don’t say?
You go ahead and do that brother. I’ll tie my cart to PH. $40mil isn’t an impossible number either. 40 is the new 30 and 20 is the new 10. Just what a good QB costs now. You are right that the easiest window to win a ring is a great qb’s rookie deal. No doubt about that. We’re going to have to franchise Chris Jones and trade him for picks. Gonna have to cut SammyW. Probably choose one of Fuller or Breeland…renegotiate Tardiff or cut him. We only have 18 million in Cap room. There’s really no other choice though when you have the best player in the game. Wouldn’t trade him for 10 firsts…and he’s probably worth 5 billion or more to Hunt
Your shopping list just reminds me why the Chiefs won’t repeat once that $40 million deal is signed. The Green Bay Packers had ten years with the most explosive quarterback of the modern era. One Super Bowl win. I hope KC enjoy it.
PS. The Patriots repeated so many times, not because Brady was so outstanding (he is cool under pressure), but because Brady was underpaid most of the time. And Bill Belichik is such an effective dumpster diver, pulling out other team’s trash and making pro bowlers of them at $1 million/year.
Where does it say he’s “demanding” $40 million a year?