Patrick Mahomes is the seventh-highest-paid player in the NFL in terms of average annual salary, one year after an eye-popping 10-year, $450 million contract (which he signed in 2020, but 2022 was technically the first year). Thanks to the salary cap increase and quarterback contracts blowing to record amounts, the Chiefs will have to rework Mahomes’ deal during the term of this contract.
Mahomes already has an MVP and a Super Bowl title within the term of the deal (one year) — and is the only quarterback to ever win two Super Bowls and earn two MVPs before age 30 (he’s only 27 ). He is an extension of Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert away from being the ninth-highest-paid quarterback in the league by average annual salary, even if no quarterback can match his $450 million total worth.
That Mahomes contract will be changed, but Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt admits that Mahomes will never make what he is truly worth to the franchise.
“Well, I don’t know if there’s really any way to quantify it financially and whatever he’s earning over his career, I’m sure he’s going to be underpaid in some way,” Hunt said over the weekend. “The great thing about Patrick (Mahomes) is that when we made that deal he recognized that he wanted to give the club the flexibility to build the team around him. And that contract was structured that way.”
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The Chiefs owe Mahomes a guaranteed salary of $40.45 million in 2023, as the cap of $49,293,381 is the highest over the life of the deal. Mahomes’ salary is guaranteed on the third day of the new league year in future years under the term of the deal, which may be why the Chiefs rework the deal over time to save cap space and open up the championship. to hold.
Mahomes joined Brett Favre as the only quarterbacks to win two MVP awards at age 27 or younger, setting a new NFL record for offensive yards in a season (5,614) in the first year of the contract. He completed 67.1% of his passes for 5,250 yards with 41 touchdowns to 12 interceptions for a 105.2 passer-raring—leading the league in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
More importantly, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl: the real barometer that the Mahomes deal was successful.
“We’ve only got one year left on a 10-year contract so there’s still a long way to go, but I think the most important thing for Patrick was to win and he’s certainly been able to do a lot of that,” said Hunt. “Brett Veach has had enough flexibility to add quality players every year and that’s part of the reason we were able to win the Lombardi Trophy again.”