If it was not already the case, Patrick Mahomes has essentially been made the king of Kansas City. On Monday, the quarterback agreed to an unprecedented 10 year contract worth $450 million with the Chiefs. Reports indicate the deal can reach up to $503 million, with $477 million guaranteed, due to possible incentives and mechanisms. Mahomes’ new deal easily becomes the highest paid contract in the history of sports.
The shiny new contract is basically a 12 year pact, because the extension will not begin until after his rookie contract is up after 2021. Virtually, this keeps Mahomes in Kansas City through 2031 and hopefully throughout his entire career.
On the other hand, we want to look into how this decision affects the Kansas City Chiefs as a whole. It seems to be a tremendous agreement for both the team and Mahomes alike. With a handful of questions, let’s dive into the team aspect and front office revelations surrounding this news.
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Is this deal team friendly or player friendly?
The bottom line is, that this deal is friendly for both sides. Over the last few years or more, Kansas City has built one of the more stable foundations in the NFL from a front office to coaching and player standpoint. The trust is unwavering throughout the facility at Arrowhead Stadium.
From Mahomes’ standpoint, he got the long term security that he wanted in the long term scheme of things. Not only does the QB get to call Kansas City home for the next decade plus, he gets to make the positive impact he envisions in the community. Patrick is also in rarefied air in terms of average annual value. When he enters the prime of this deal, the salary per season will be among the top of the league.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs may look to be paying a boatload come 2024-2026 when this deal really takes off. However, the NFL’s potential salary cap rise, along with expected future revenue from global expansion and television contracts will continue to make payments easier. This is indeed the largest sports contract in history monetarily. However, this could look like a steal come four or five years from now, given what other players could command on the market.
Will this contract go down as a steal?
Let’s add on to that last thought from the last question. The amazing thing about this contract for the team, is how much of it is roster bonuses being rolled over. There are not a ton of hoops to jump through for the team. Could certain roster moves get tricky? Sure. But, this is a lot less complicated for Kansas City than what was first believed.
If player salaries continue to rise, the Chiefs will be joined by many other squads during the course of the Mahomes contract. There is also a chance of renegotiation or reworking of the deal for either side down the line. Overall, this looks to be a much more considerable and maintained deal than one would expect for the top quarterback in the league.
Will Andy Reid remain head coach during the duration of the deal?
Mahomes being paired with Andy Reid is one of the more unstoppable duos in the NFL. And it does not seem to be coming to an end any time soon.
The 62 year old coach talked about this the day after the contract news broke.
“I haven’t got to that point mentally, where I’m thinking about retirement,” Reid said. “You look forward to coming to work, deal with guys. This guy (Mahomes) makes it even better.”
Not only does Mahomes give Reid newfound energy and fire, this is the best passer he has had with this much youth. The leadership and maturity Pat displays, helps to make Andy’s job of calling plays and creating new concepts that much easier.
Can KC still sign other lucrative deals?
We have talked about the misconception with how the money will funnel throughout this contract. In fact, ESPN’s Adam Schefter says this actually gives the Chiefs “more cap flexibility and clarity over the long term future.”
Mahomes understood the team would still want to build the best possible team around him when signing this. What does this mean for Chris Jones? His deadline to sign a long term contract would have to come in the next week (July 15th). Schefter believes that Mahomes contract has “little to do” with Jones. If Kansas City and Jones could somehow come to an agreement on a contract around three or four years, it is actually not impossible.
Keep in mind other players like Tyrann Mathieu and Travis Kelce may need new deals in a few years or so. Adding in free agency will not be totally lost during this time. Additionally, the decisions will have to be well timed and planned. This is nothing new for the team, though.
What does this say about the Chiefs as a team?
We talked earlier about the trust instilled through every top individual in this Chiefs organization. Mahomes even alluded to that when talking about the signing. This was an easy process for both sides, and something that they had been thinking of for a while.
General manager Brett Veach mentioned that this was in the making since Mahomes basically started taking reps as the starting QB in 2018. When they saw Mike Trout‘s deal in MLB, Veach said they knew it would be “a baseball type of contract.”
Veach also deserves a ton of credit in his role as both GM, and formally as a scout. While John Dorsey was still GM when Mahomes was drafted, it was Veach who saw the potential in the QB before anyone else.
It has not been an easy road for Veach, since taking over for Dorsey. He has worked smart and aggressively to keep the salary cap situation afloat. Bad contracts that Dorsey made with players like Eric Berry and Justin Houston were not easy to end. Veach has been ahead of the curve in many aspects with roster construction, and that was true with the Mahomes contract. He did not waste time in getting this done, while also setting the Chiefs up for this move well beforehand.
As general manager, the decisions have been challenging. Yet in the end, it has made Kansas City better in the end and now they are perennial Super Bowl contenders. Just like Mahomes, Veach may just be scratching the surface of an all time tremendous career in Kansas City.
For more thoughts on the Mahomes contract, listen to our latest FPC Chiefs Podcast episode.
– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.
