Chiefs to ‘evaluate’ Patrick Mahomes contract

While Aaron Rodgers broke the $50 million per year barrier in 2023, the Packers quarterback signed an unusually structured deal that extended three years from his previous pact. Jalen hurts The $51 million AAV deal represented a true long-term deal in this price range, moving another quarterback beyond that. Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs and Mahomes worked out his aberrant deal in 2020, and the sides reached an agreement on a 10-year extension worth $450 million. At the time, Mahomes’ AAV was $10 million north of the NFL’s second-highest average salary. The pitch quickly caught up with the superstar setter. Hurts’ deal drops Mahomes to fifth among QB AAVs, and the Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert’s extensions will almost permanently knock the two-time MVP out of the top five.

It would be unusual for a team to renegotiate with a player with so many years of control remaining on his contract, and the Chiefs are not committing to do so. Then again, the franchise’s previous Super Bowl berth before Mahomes was in 1969. The team shouldn’t be expected to get into a contract feud with the three-time Super Bowl starter. Brett Veach said on Thursday that the team will re-evaluate his QB’s position after the Bengals and Chargers locked up their passers, according to Pro Football Talk’s Myles Simmons:

“We have a special relationship with (Mahomes) and his agent. We are in constant communication,” Veach said. “It’s one of those things – and I think the coach (Andy Reid) alluded to this in his last press conference – where as soon as a guy is done, that’s kind of the plan. and the model. And a few years later, it’s jumped up and outdated.

“But I think this organization and the relationship we have with Pat will always work to make sure we do the right thing for everyone. There will still be a few contracts to complete – Burrow and Herbert – and once that they will be, I think you look at everything and assess where you are and what you can do and go from there.

After Rodgers signed his third contract (averaging $22 million) in 2013, the quarterback market didn’t change much in the next four years. By 2017, Derek Carr had only raised the AAV bar to $25 million. Kirk Cousins’ fully guaranteed pact in 2018 ($28 million per person) opened the floodgates, and positional prominence obviously gives the game’s reliable starters considerable leverage. The QB market grew from $35 million (Russell Wilson’s third AAV contract from an April 2019 deal) to $50 million over a three-year span, and Hurts set the stage for Burrow and Herbert move it higher. This leaves Mahomes in a strange place.

Launching his peers in terms of accomplishments, the two-time Super Bowl MVP is signed through 2031. No other QB deal goes past 2028; passers extended since Mahomes’ contract naturally preferred traditional structures to maximize leverage while staying within their premiums. Mahomes, 27, has not made known pressure to receive a raise, and his contract contains guarantee mechanisms – which freeze salaries over one year – which protect it. But as the market continues to rise, Mahomes’ deal will continue to be overtaken by players who have achieved significantly less.

The six-year veteran has played most of the 2022 playoffs with a high ankle sprain, making it worse on several occasions. Although Mahomes doesn’t appear to be in danger of missing the offseason, he said this week that the ankle hasn’t fully healed yet, via NFL.com’s James Palmer. Mahomes, who underwent toe surgery in 2021 and missed practices this offseason, said the swelling has subsided and he is navigating well in independent offseason practices. He worked with Boston College receiver prospect Zay Flowers Wednesday. But the pain sometimes persists. Still, Mahomes said he doesn’t expect to be restricted during OTAs, by Palmer. Mahomes hasn’t missed a full game through injury since 2019.