What national media had to say about Patrick Mahomes’ contract extension with Chiefs
Can any of us really wrap our brains around the thought of a half billion dollars being paid out through the end of 2031?
It’s as if quarterback Patrick Mahomes won a multi-state lottery with the only difference being that Chiefs fans feel as if they also were winners.
That epic 10-year contract extension that could pay Mahomes up to $503 million generated a lot of talk not only in Kansas City, but around the nation.
KC Star columnist Sam Mellinger wrote about it and so did columnist Vahe Gregorian.
Here is what’s being said around the nation:
Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com wrote a story headlined, “Chiefs’ dynasty hinges on moves post Patrick Mahomes deal.”
This is an excerpt: “The true test of this team’s ability to dominate for the next few years will be how (general manager Brett) Veach navigates that financial landscape. He’s already grappling with how to handle (defensive lineman Chris Jones), an elite talent who made a handful of masterful defensive plays that helped the Chiefs win that Super Bowl. A drastically lower cap would create even tougher decisions, as Kansas City is paying top dollar for several of its biggest names. These are the kinds of challenges that come with winning a championship, and with going all-in on ‘running it back.’”
On the NFL Network, Michael Silver said the Chiefs are the league’s “It” team:
The Ringer’s Kevin Clark wrote a story with the headline, “Patrick Mahomes breaks all the NFL’s rules — again.”
Here is part of what he wrote: “Regardless of structure and guarantees, we know that Mahomes is rich as hell, as he deserves to be. The hardest thing to defend in football is a perfectly thrown pass. The hardest person to defend is someone who does that all the time. Mahomes throws passes that are a risk for any other quarterback and doesn’t make mistakes on them. He is the closest thing to a sure thing on the field that exists in the sport, and now the Chiefs have him for another decade. It is not an overpay because with Mahomes, that is not possible. It’s an unprecedented deal for an unprecedented quarterback.”
Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Brandt wrote a column headlined, “That $500 million number may look big, but Patrick Mahomes is actually giving up a lot.”
Here is a snippet of what he wrote: “Mahomes has a $10 million signing bonus, the level of a mid-tier free agent, and had to commit for the extraordinary time frame of 12 years. Further details are needed on the “full guarantee” but the deal is loaded with “guarantee mechanisms,” a euphemism for contingent monies (roster bonuses) depending on Mahomes remaining on the team. Of course, no one is now suggesting Mahomes will be in danger of being cut, but it is Mahomes, not the Chiefs, who bears the risk of those contingencies. Obviously the total value of this deal, if earned, is enormous. But the market will inevitably pass him by, and while the Chiefs will want to do right by Mahomes, they will be armed with the leverage of contract control.”
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, the former NFL quarterback, had this to say:
Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports wrote a story with the headline, “The $503M question: Can Chiefs build a dynasty with so much spent on Patrick Mahomes?”
This is an excerpt of what he wrote: “Still, whenever a quarterback’s cap number rises from $5.3 million, as it is this year, to an average of nearly $45 million in the 11 years after that, there’s no doubt the front office and coaching staff will have less room for error.
“Interestingly enough, five rival NFL evaluators — made up of executives, scouts and coaches — reached for this column agreed that Kansas City has the look of an organization that could navigate the dreaded big-money quarterback extension, largely due to the competence of the front office and coaching staff, and Mahomes’ overwhelming talent.”
Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr wrote a story with the headline, “Patrick Mahomes’s 10-Year Extension is Gigantic, Hilarious, American and Great.”
Here is part of what Orr wrote: “The uber-contract is a wonderful middle finger to the ridiculous level of efficiency with which agents and teams have learned to tango. Most contracts are so yawn-inducingly easy to predict, with everyone fighting over the shavings of a dime as it relates to injury guarantees in a season that we cannot even say with any degree of certainty will exist. And then comes a player that gets a team and a fan base so ridiculously excited that they blow the whole thing up for the hell of it.”
Here is Kansas City’s Nick Wright on “First Things First:”
The New York Times’ Benjamin Hoffman wrote a column with the headline: “Patrick Mahomes’s contract shows the gap in pro sports paydays.”
This is a snippet: “Mahomes is a brilliant player worth every penny he makes, and there is every reason to believe that he will finish his career as the highest paid N.F.L. player in history. But it is something of a coup for his league that this deal is being reported by some as the largest in pro sports when he is guaranteed less total money than the $161 million the Baltimore Orioles are obligated to pay Chris Davis, who is perhaps the worst everyday player in baseball.”
Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless had this to say:
