Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has set the standard on the field with two Super Bowl titles over the past three seasons. The reigning NFL MVP also set the league standard when he signed a 10-year, $450 million contract back in July of 2020.
Fast forward three years, and Mahomes is now the eighth-highest paid quarterback in the NFL on a per-year basis. It has led to talks that Kansas City will restructure Mahomes’ deal to make him the highest-paid NFL player.
The league’s best quarterback talked about his contract situation from Chiefs training camp recently. Mahomes told Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer that he’s trying to balance being paid his worth with understanding that his teammates also need to be paid fair-market value.
“I’ve looked at Tom’s (Brady) model and how he did it. That’s it — you want to make money for yourself and for your family. You want to keep pushing the market forward for other quarterbacks. You don’t want to be someone that they use against other players. But at the same time, I want these other guys to get paid. I want Chris Jones to be in training camp. I want Travis Kelce to always be making money. I want everybody on the team here,” Patrick Mahomes said.
Mahomes’ reference to Brady is rather interesting in that it suggests he’s not looking to get every last penny from Kansas City. Rather, some of the focus has to be on continued team building and contention.
A reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year finalist, Chris Jones is currently holding out from camp in search for a new deal. The defensive tackle is slated to become a free agent after the 2023 season and wants some long-term security. That’s one of the reasons Mahomes was making this point. He’s sending somewhat of a signal to the Chiefs.
Related: Highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL
Patrick Mahomes contract: 10 years, $450 million with $141.5 in guarantees
Mahomes’ average of $45 million per season $7.5 million less than the current trend setter in that of recently extended Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. In fact, the three highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL all signed their deals this past offseason. Herbert joined Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts in setting the market.
Mahomes, 27, has proven himself to be the single best quarterback in the NFL today. Last season saw him throw for 5,250 yards with 41 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. It was just a continuation of his utter dominance since Kansas City made the former Texas Tech star a first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
- Patrick Mahomes career stats: 66% completion, 24,241 yards, 192 TD, 49 INT, 105.7 QB rating
It makes perfect sense that Mahomes wants a fair-market value contract. It also makes sense that he wants to keep the Chiefs’ dynasty window open. Finding a happy medium could be the issue.