One year after falling just short against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have punched their ticket to the Super Bowl.
Down 10-0 early on, Mahomes and Co. hit the FTL Drive on offense, scoring on four of their next five possessions. The reigning NFL MVP was absolutely splendid en route to leading his team to Super Bowl LIV.
This performance will have wide-ranging implications around the league, starting with the quarterback market once the season comes to a conclusion.
The why: Eligible for an extension for the first time following this season, Mahomes’ performance on Sunday has pretty much vaulted the NFL quarterback market into the stratosphere. It could now be hitting orbit around Titan.
We already knew Mahomes was in line for a record-breaking contract, surpassing those who have reset the market on an near never-ending loop over the past couple calendar years. This adds another layer to it.
The market: When taking into account the market resetting itself, we have to focus on previous contracts as the low-water mark.
- Russell Wilson: Seattle’s starter agreed to a then-record four-year, $140 million deal back in April. Said contract averaged out to $35 million annually.
- Jared Goff: Shockingly, the Los Angeles Rams inked Goff to a four-year, $134 million contract in September. That called for $33.5 million annually.
- Carson Wentz: The four-year, $128 million contract extension Philadelphia signed Wentz to in June caught a lot of people around the NFL world by surprise. After all, the former No. 2 overall pick was coming off yet another injury-plagued campaign.
Patrick Mahomes’ contract value: Now, taking into account what we’ve seen from Mahomes, it’s easy to draw the conclusion that he’ll absolutely shatter the quarterback market.
- Suggestions are that Mahomes is looking at $40 million annually on a four or five-year deal. That makes sense given the success he’s had.
- We’re talking about a dude that has put up an historical first two seasons in the NFL, culminating in the Chiefs’ first Super Bowl appearance since Jan. 1970.
- A total of 9,128 passing yards with 76 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 30 starts since he took over as the Chiefs’ full-time starter Week 1 of the 2018 season.
- These numbers put Mahomes on a trajectory to smash all-time marks in terms of yards passing and passing touchdowns. Oh, and his Chiefs boast a 23-7 record in his 30 starts.
The impact: Any new deal for Mahomes would create a trickle-down effect unlike anything we’ve seen in the modern history of the sports world.
- Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson are both up for new deals this coming spring. As it relates to Prescott, he’s an impending free agent.
- We know full well that Dak and his Cowboys have reached a tipping point in extension negotiations. If Mahomes were to agree to a new deal before Prescott, it would change the dynamics of those negotiations.
- Also eligible for an extension for the first time this offseason, the Texans’ best hope they are able to lock Watson up long-term before Mahomes signs.
- It’s rather simple stuff. Neither of these quarterbacks is at the same level of Mahomes. But once Kansas City’s signal caller is locked up, their market increases big time.
The bottom line
In addition to the two quarterbacks we mentioned above, other signal callers are slated to become free agents. The list is not small.
- Tom Brady
- Ryan Tannehill
- Jameis Winston
- Marcus Mariota
- Drew Brees
- Philip Rivers
- Teddy Bridgewater
Sure none of these quarterbacks will compare to Mahomes in terms of total value and average annual salary. That’s not the point.
Once the reigning MVP and current AFC champion does ink his new deal, it’s going to up the value for each of these signal callers.
This would have been the case prior to Mahomes’ dynamic performance in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game win over Tennessee. But it’s now been taken to a whole new level.