It is a great time to be Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
According to multiple reports, Patrick Mahomes has signed a 10-year, $450 million contract extension with reaches up to $477 million when you add in the two remaining years of his rookie deal.His contract also includes around $25 million in extra incentives for playoff and Super Bowl wins bringing the potential total to around $503 million. The deal also includes $141 million in guarantees if he gets injured and $63 million at signing. The deal is the largest contract in sports history in regards to total contract value. The next closest amount would be Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout whose Major League Baseball deal has a total of $426 million.
Perhaps no player is more deserving of this kind of mega-deal than Mahomes. He is coming off a landmark Super Bowl LIV win in which the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 for their first championship win since 1970. In his first full season as a starter in 2018, Mahomes won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award along with also the Offensive Player of the Year award beginning the creation of his legacy. He is a two-time Pro Bowler and a first-team All Pro in only two full seasons as a starter.
While Mahomes’ deal could very well set the precedent for other upcoming quarterback contracts, here’s a look at some of the details of the aforementioned blockbuster deal:
(All numerical figures are courtesy of Spotrac)
His base salary for 2021 is only $990,000
Patrick Mahomes deal may be large in value but his playing salary for the next year is actually quite small.
Mahomes’ deal in 2021 only contains a $990,000 base salary which isn’t much considering the scope of the $450 million dollar deal.
The reason why 2021 is an interesting year is because Mahomes has a $21,716,905 roster bonus which would be paid out on March 1. Teams generally use low base salaries because the base salary counts against the team’s salary cap. With large contracts such as these, most of the large amounts are tied into signing, roster and workout bonuses because they do not count against the cap. Signing bonuses only count against a team’s salary cap if the player is released or traded before the bonus is fully paid out. However roster bonuses are different as they are only guaranteed on the appropriate date.
For a deal this large, the Chiefs front office has done a good job of making things as manageable as possible as far as keep the team’s cap in a good place.
Mahomes’ roster bonuses will add up to more than $330 million
As stated before, proper bonus distribution is key in keeping a franchise player and also making the salary cap team-friendly.
When looking at the details of Mahomes’ contract, if he plays out the entire deal, he will make $337,216,905 in roster bonuses. It is a deal that is absolutely unheard of as roster bonuses are exactly what they are, getting paid to be on the team’s roster after a certain date (usually March or June 1). The deal is easily the richest by all means as no current player has a bonus structure that even comes close to Mahomes.
If he stays healthy, he has a great chance to see all of that money as he is the most valuable player in franchise history and has shown zero signs of slowing down. The quarterback position is also a position that teams are willing to show patience in even after a down season which further gives Patrick Mahomes an even better chance to play out the deal fully and claim those bonuses.
He could potentially make $59,950,000 in 2027
Patrick Mahomes could be in for a huge 2027.
Mahomes is scheduled to make $59,950,000 in the 2027 season. His base salary will be $10 million and he is scheduled to make a whopping $49.4 million in roster bonuses if he is on the team at that time. The amount will be his highest in the life of the contract.
The Chiefs signal-caller will still be only 31 years old in 2027 which puts him at a prime age to make a lot of money still. The Chiefs would be off the hook entirely if they choose to part ways with Mahomes for whatever reason, they would not suffer any cap penalty which brings me to my last point:
The Chiefs have an out in the 2024 season
Hypothetically speaking if things somehow don’t work with the star quarterback, the Chiefs could release him or trade him in the 2024 season without any major cap penalty.
While he is due to make over $39 million in salary and roster bonuses, 2024 is the year where their dead cap(money that counts against the team’s salary cap) would only be $2 million if they decide to trade or cut him. The Chiefs would actually save $37,950,000 if they somehow were to part ways with Mahomes for any reason
The scenario seems highly unlikely as they have invested a lot in the All-Pro quarterback but anything is possible in the NFL. However, with a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback and someone who is the face of the league…
That out most likely won’t be used anytime soon or at all.
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