Unequivocally seen as the best player in the NFL currently, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is going to be a member of the Chiefs for a long, long time – 12 more years to be exact.
His 10-year, $477 million deal (that can be accelerated all the way up to $503 million) is an absolute market breaker for the NFL, as this constitutes the largest-ever contract handed out to a player in the history of the league. As is the case that players like Mahomes do not grow on trees, neither do these half a billion-dollar contracts, either.
Having become the first player in NFL history to have won both the league MVP and the Super Bowl MVP before turning 25 years young, the former Texas Tech Red Raider has taken the league by storm, all while leaving certain teams (looking at you, Chicago Bears) in his wake, wishing that they had handled the 2017 NFL draft just a bit different.
The careers of Mitchell Trubisky, Deshaun Watson, and Mahomes will forever be tied to each other, seeing as how those three were the most talked-about QBs in that draft and were drafted as such. While both Mahomes and Watson have produced much better careers than the first player of the trio to have been drafted (Trubisky), it is fair to say that that draft has absolutely turned the tides of all three of those franchises involved since then.
We obviously know how the Chiefs have fared since they took Mahomes – but the Bears, who shocked everyone and selected Trubisky out of UNC as the first signal-caller off the board, have really struggled on offense, so him being the fit of the present and future of that team seems to be a thing of the past, especially with Nick Foles having been brought in to push Trubisky in camp.
The fifth-year option for Trubisky was also not picked up by the Bears, signaling that while they have not officially closed the door on Trubisky remaining with the team past his rookie deal, the odds of him being the long-term solution for this team seems to dwindle each and every day.
The Texans have gotten the second-best player out of that draft in terms of quarterback play, as Watson has transferred a ton of the success he experienced playing at Clemson to the pros, even though his arsenal of weapons around him on offense and his head coach, Bill O’Brien, being a loose cannon. Flashing that elusiveness on practically every snap, Watson will be put under the microscope, even more this year, especially with DeAndre Hopkins having been shipped off to Arizona, leaving Will Fuller IV, Kenny Stills, and Randall Cobb as the top receiving targets for Watson in 2020.
But the focus here is and should be, on Mahomes. Not only did he just receive a contract that can total upwards of $500+ million, but he also received what will be one of the most scrutinized contracts in the history of the NFL as well, putting his play and the performance of the team from once that contract kicks in to when it ends.
A half-billion-dollar commitment is an immense amount of value to hand to one player. Still, Mahomes is probably the only player in the league, at this current moment, that is deserving of that kind of ludicrous money. Lamar Jackson may be the only player currently capable of catching the type of lore and production that Mahomes has produced in this league, but due to his penchant for being a heavier running QB than that of Mahomes, Jackson’s health is a huge facet in any sorts of long-term contract negotiations.
But, the former baseball player, who rightfully so made the smart shift over to the sport of football, now is going to be earning over $500 million over the next decade. His new contract is tacked onto the end of his rookie deal, which extends for the ‘20 and ‘21 seasons.
With a cap hit of over $7.3 million for this upcoming season, and his fifth-year option (which was already picked up) sitting right around $24.8 million, his next two seasons will, even when combined, still pale in comparison to the money that will be doled out starting for the 2022-23 season.
Outside of the on-field results, the kind of popularity that Mahomes has been able to drive to both the league and the Chiefs specifically has an uncapped financial amount to it, meaning that while the team may be committing an unheard-of amount of money to their franchise QB, the team will be recouping some of that value through the likes of fan turnout, jersey and memorabilia sales, and just overall increased interest in the sport, especially at a time where the league had been struggling with younger generations due to their stances on specific hot-button topics.
Another source of income that could help the Chiefs is through the naming rights to Arrowhead Stadium, as they are still looking for a partner to join up with to help name their stadium. Even after reports this week shot down the fact that the Chiefs had come to an agreement with GEHA, which is the Government Employees Health Association, the conversation has at least been had with one potential source. With Mahomes being in town for much longer now, potential suitors for the stadium could start to pop up now, seeing as how one of their biggest reasons to plaster their name on the KC stadium is staying around for the long haul.
While the Chiefs will naturally be hurting in terms of having enough money to throw around for the rest of their roster, especially when it comes to helping upgrade their defense, they need to look for a new option at quarterback is not something that will need to be worried about for a very long time. And while that potential of $503 million looks to be an absolute ton of money committed to just one player, if Mahomes can remain healthy and produce the same type of product on the field as he has been doing so far throughout his career, this deal will look more like an undervalue of his talents than a total overvalue.
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