Chiefs recently reworked Patrick Mahomes’ contract. It probably won’t be the last time
Patrick Mahomes proved last season that a player whose contract accounts for a large percentage of the team’s salary can win a Super Bowl.
With a restructured contract in his pocket — one giving him the NFL’s top average annual salary through 2026 — that remains the objective for Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“It was a constant communication between me, my people, front office, Clark Hunt, Coach Reid to five the right spot where I can get paid, keep the quarterback market going and at the same time keep a lot of great dudes around me and keep cap space for other guys, as well,” Mahomes said. “It’s something I’ll do throughout my entire career.”
The newly reworked deal with pay Mahomes, the seventh-year pro who turned 28 Sunday, a guaranteed $210.6 million over the next four seasons. That’s the most guaranteed money in NFL history over a four-year span.
The total restores Mahomes to the top of the quarterback compensation list, a perch he assumed three years ago when he signed the original version of his extension in 2020. That was a 10-year contract extension worth $450 million that runs through 2031.
But since then, two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP’s average annual salary had dropped to eighth-highest in the league. Some other prominent NFL quarterbacks, including Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and the L.A. Chargers’ Justin Herbert, signed lucrative contract extensions this year.
Also ahead of Mahomes on the compensation list before his restructured contract was announced: Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, Denver’s Russell Wilson, Arizona’s Kyler Murray and Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson.
“It’s kind of known that you have to keep the bar going, keep it moving,” Mahomes said. “I don’t want people being negotiated against me.
“That’s the reason you do something like I did this week, just trying to keep the market moving in the right direction — so not only me but other quarterbacks and other players can get paid the money they deserve.”
The Chiefs and Mahomes plan to revisit his current contract again after 2026.
“It’s a special place, a special relationship I have with the team to be able to trust them,” Mahomes said. “Even when I signed the last contract I knew this was going to happen, and I know it’s probably going to happen again at some point.”
This story was originally published September 20, 2023 at 1:18 PM.