Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has played in three Super Bowls in the last four years and is one of the favorites to make a repeat appearance this season. The 28-year-old has also led the team to five consecutive AFC Championship games since he became the starter.
News that the Cincinnati Bengals had signed a new five-year, $275 million deal with their starter, and Mahomes’ chief AFC competitor, Joe Burrow had barely filtered through the league when the Chiefs announced that they had restructured their own deal with Mahomes. Here is a look at the details, and be sure that it is within these that the devil in fact resides.
Mahomes was raking in some $45 million per year as Chiefs quarterback. But the new deal for Burrow saw that annual average value topped to the tune of $55 million for the Bengal signal caller. This would never do for Mahomes, and so his deal was restructured to fully guarantee $210.6 million over the next four seasons, shooting Mahomes’ AAV to $70.2 million per year and back to the top of the pile.
With Mahomes’ long-term contract in place, Kansas City fans need not worry that Mahomes is leaving anytime soon. His contract runs out in 2032, after which he becomes a free agent. But before that, in 2026, when this restructure ends, there will be a renegotiation. It is unthinkable that the numbers won’t continue to climb, and by quite a margin it would seem, potentially making things tight for the organization’s ability to pick up or hang onto quality players to surround Mahomes with.
