Originally Posted by :
When Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed his current 12-year contract three years ago, he nudged the bar for the highest average per year (APY) by roughly $10 million, to $45 million annually.
Now, with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson at $52 million per year, Mahomes has fallen $7 million per year behind the highest-paid player in the sport.
Chiefs G.M. Brett Veach already has vowed to address the Mahomes deal after more quarterback contracts are completed. While Veach didn’t delve into any specifics, here’s what reasonably should be expected, based on our conversations with folks aware of the dynamics of the situation.
Expect Mahomes, before the season begins, to once again be the highest-paid player in league history.
The details will be interesting, and subject to differing interpretations. Because Mahomes has nine years left on his current contract, a new-money APY in excess of $52 million per year would be obtained simply by tacking three years and a penny more than $156 million on the back end of the existing deal.
The real question will become the value of the contract from the moment it’s signed. Also relevant to the analysis will be the full guarantee at signing, and the cash flow in the first three years of the revised deal.
In 2020, Mahomes swapped a high APY and a complicated but lucrative guarantee structure for cash flow in the years that were most likely to be affected by the pandemic. Now that those days have come and gone, the cash flow can be boosted in the early years of a revised deal.
Whether big-picture proclamations or devilish details, a new deal is coming for Mahomes, sooner than later. He has more than earned it — and with each new quarterback deal that is done, his own situation becomes more glaring. Look for that to at least be partially rectified in the coming weeks or months.
Ultimately, Mahomes is trying to strike the balance of fair compensation with leaving enough cash behind to have a team that lets him pursue championships and, ultimately, to chase Tom Brady’s all-time record of seven championships. Mahomes needs five to tie, six to win.
While not yet a real threat to Brady, Mahomes isn’t far from making things interesting. And that could be enough to get Brady interested in trying to get to No. 8 before it’s all said and done, just in case.
Originally Posted by GoForIt:
He is going to be made the highest paid. BTW, he deserves it. No player IMO should ever take less. Brady was one of a kind in that regard.
They’re going to do something similar to the Jalen Hurts contract. Huge money for the player with low cap hits because of Void Years at the end of the deal. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DRM08:
They’re going to do something similar to the Jalen Hurts contract. Huge money for the player with low cap hits because of Void Years at the end of the deal.
Which means it's better on the front end for the team (and player in cash, I guess) but eventually is going to put them in a spot where they don't have much flexibility or options. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
Which means it's better on the front end for the team (and player in cash, I guess) but eventually is going to put them in a spot where they don't have much flexibility or options.
They'll keep giving the QB a new contract every few years to help kick the can down the road and eventually bite the bullet when he gets too old or injured to perform. Seems like a solid strategy if you have a great QB. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DRM08:
They'll keep giving the QB a new contract every few years to help kick the can down the road and eventually bite the bullet when he gets too old or injured to perform. Seems like a solid strategy if you have a great QB.
Not sure I'd call Joe a great quarterback. We’ll see what he’s made of when he’s not surrounded with top notch talent. His playoff numbers aren’t great [Reply]
Originally Posted by Coochie liquor:
Not sure I'd call Joe a great quarterback. We’ll see what he’s made of when he’s not surrounded with top notch talent. His playoff numbers aren’t great
That's the point though. They are going to structure his contract where the cap hits will be a joke compared to his actual cash flow. So he's going to continue to have the likes of Chase & Higgins. As long as they have Lou Anarumo as their DC, they will continue to have a pretty good defense. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DRM08:
...They are going to As long as they have Lou Anarumo as their DC, they will continue to have a pretty good defense.
I still hate the fact that Anarumo gets to pick OBJ's brain about the Chiefs' protection schemes, snap counts, playbook, etc. I'm sure he's all but interrogated OBJ already. [Reply]
Originally Posted by SAGA45:
I still hate the fact that Anarumo gets to pick OBJ's brain about the Chiefs' protection schemes, snap counts, playbook, etc. I'm sure he's all but interrogated OBJ already.
That doesn't bother me one bit. I'm sure he already knows pretty much everything OBJ could tell him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by SAGA45:
I doubt it. A decent portion, MAYbe. But definitely not all of what OBJ intimately knows, that's for sure.
So in the history of the NFL, anytime a key player goes to another team, you're saying that his intimate knowledge of his former team is a really big problem for said former team?
This isn't a movie dude. Chiefs have nothing to worry about. Besides, these other teams have watched every second of film on the Chiefs. Now, he might be able to say which kind of cream cheese Patrick likes on his pre-game bagel, but...
...it's a silly narrative. Former players don't suddenly make it possible for their former teams to lose based on their "inside knowledge". NFL coaches (unless they are stupid) change their shit up all the time. [Reply]
