As just about anyone who’s watched the NFL over the past five years could tell you, Patrick Mahomes is the best player in the league. But he’s no longer being paid like it. After a rash of contract extensions, Mahomes is now the seventh-highest-paid quarterback in the NFL based on average annual value (AAV).
But that could soon change. The Kansas City Chiefs are expected to address Mahomes’ contract and make him the league’s top-paid player before Week 1 of the 2023 regular season, according to Pro Football Talk.
Patrick Mahomes Is Underpaid
Life changes quickly in the NFL. Less than three years after he inked a 10-year, $450 million extension with the Chiefs, Mahomes has already been usurped by other quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Kyler Murray, and Deshaun Watson all have higher AAVs than Mahomes, with Jackson setting the top of the market at $52 million.
The Chiefs, for their part, are aware of this discrepancy, and general manager Brett Veach has suggested Kansas City is open to tweaking Mahomes’ deal.
“I don’t know,” Veach said in February when asked how Mahomes’ contract would be impacted by other QB extensions. “I mean, it’s a fair question; it’s a good question. On one end, we have Pat’s deal done. On the other end, we’ll certainly have to monitor the rest of these deals. We have a lot of years with Pat’s contract, and that’s something we’ll have to readjust as time goes on. We’ll just see.”
In April, Veach further alluded to other quarterback deals affecting Mahomes and the Chiefs.
MORE: FREE Mock Draft Simulator With Trades
“We have a special relationship with him and his agent,” Veach said. “We’re in constant communication, as you mentioned. It’s one of those things, and I think Coach (Reid) hinted on this in his last press conference, as soon as one guy gets done, it’s kind of the blueprint and the model, and two years later, it’s jumped and exceeded.
“But I think that this organization and the relationship that we have with Pat, we’ll always be working to make sure that we’re doing right by everybody. There will be a couple more contracts that still have to be done (Bengals QB Joe) Burrow and (Chargers QB Justin) Herbert, and once they do, I think we’ll kind of look at everything and assess where you are and what you can do and take it from there.”
Despite the $450 million price tag, Mahomes’ extension was team-friendly for the Chiefs, at least in terms of cash flow. Here are the three-year cash flows for the NFL’s nine highest-paid quarterbacks, with Mahomes at the bottom:
- Lamar Jackson: $156 million
- Jalen Hurts: $153 million
- Russell Wilson: $150 million
- Kyler Murray: $147.8 million
- Josh Allen: $137.9 million
- Deshaun Watson: $137.4 million
- Matthew Stafford: $129 million
- Dak Prescott: $126 million
- Patrick Mahomes: $116.4 million
MORE: Highest-Paid Players in the NFL Entering 2023
Mahomes’ contract appears far less impressive when you consider how much money he earned — and is still scheduled to earn — during the early years of the deal. Once Burrow and Herbert sign their extensions, Mahomes will get pushed even further down the list of both cash flow and AAV.
In terms of guarantees, Mahomes is essentially uncuttable, thanks to his roster bonus structure. For the next several seasons, Mahomes will have massive roster bonuses — between $20 million and $50 million — become fully guaranteed the year before they’re due.
As such, Kansas City would incur untenable dead money charges by releasing Mahomes anytime before 2031. Mahomes acquired that certainty by taking less upfront cash during the COVID-affected seasons, but he’ll likely right that wrong on any new deal.
The easiest way for the Chiefs to get more money into Mahomes’ hands is by giving him a new signing bonus. He’d receive the cash immediately, but K.C. could spread out the cap charges over the next five seasons.
The Chiefs only have $3.7 million in available cap space, so they’d have to get creative if they plan to increase Mahomes’ cap charge in 2023. An extension for defensive tackle Chris Jones could create ample cap room, while Kansas City could also restructure deals for veterans like Travis Kelce, Joe Thuney, or Justin Reid.
A Mahomes Extension Is More About Optics Than Money
That Mahomes and the Chiefs might rework — or altogether rewrite — an extension that still has nine years remaining proves that everything in the NFL contract landscape is negotiable. Mahomes isn’t about to skip training camp or hold out for a new deal, but Kansas City will do everything to keep its star quarterback happy.
Last summer, Mahomes seemed to indicate that becoming the highest-paid player in the NFL didn’t matter all that much to him.
“When I signed my deal, I knew I was going to be pretty set for life, regardless of what the market kind of happens,” Mahomes said in July 2022. “But you just keep playing. Money is one thing, but when you get those Super Bowl rings, at the end of your career, I think that’s going to be what you look back upon. I think I’ve made enough money from the football field and obviously off of it as well, that it won’t matter at the end of the day.”
MORE: Kansas City Chiefs 2023 Schedule
Mahomes has already made $80 million playing in the NFL, and his current contract will enable him to collect hundreds of millions more, even if it’s unaltered. Forbes estimates Mahomes earns $20 million per year from endorsement work.
Mahomes already has more money than most could ever spend, but at a certain point, optics overshadow the actual cash. How contracts are framed matters in the NFL. We see this every offseason when initial reports of new contracts overinflate the actual value or blur the lines between “total guarantees” and “full guarantees.”
It’s not surprising that Mahomes and agent Leigh Steinberg would want a new deal from the Chiefs, and this probably won’t be the last time Mahomes has to adjust his contract.
The salary cap will only continue to rise and should top $300 million by the 2026 season. By that time, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, or Anthony Richardson might be the NFL’s highest-paid quarterback with a salary approaching $65 million. Assuming Mahomes is still the league’s best signal-caller, he’ll be in line for another bump.