KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – JANUARY 19: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs ceebrates after defeating the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs defeated the Titans 35-24. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Patrick Mahomes is the best player in the NFL and he’s about to be paid like it.
In what is perhaps the least surprising news ever, Patrick Mahomes is talking with the Kansas City Chiefs about a contract extension.
Mahomes is in line to make an embarrassing amount of money, and while it’s not a huge surprise that he’s getting an extension from the Chiefs it’s going to be interesting to see what the contract looks like.
Paying the best player in the NFL is a no-brainer. What the details will be seem like an afterthought but are actually crucially important for the future of the NFL. The ripple effect of that deal is going to be a potential tone-setter for all that end up following him.
Patrick Mahomes contract: How much is he going to get paid?
The short answer is a lot. The Chiefs should just hand Mahomes a blank check and let him cash whatever he wants, as there isn’t an existing price to put on him that seems like fair value.
Regardless, we’re going to get a number and it’s going to affect more than just Mahomes.
The Chiefs haven’t shied away from this, openly admitting that signing Mahomes is both going to be expensive but necessary. You don’t have a generational quarterback and play hardball with him, and this won’t develop into a Dak Prescott-style situation.
What is of most interest here is what it does to the rest of the league. NFL players, while paid handsomely, are generally seen as being on the short end of the North American sports market. NBA players have incredible guarantees, there’s no salary cap in MLB and $200 million is the starting point in negotiations for the premier players in the league.
In the NFL, however, loopholes exist that make the number a player sees in his bank account much smaller than the one that shows up in reports about his signing. Mahomes is going to get a record-breaking deal and how it’s structured is going to be of great interest to other rising stars in the league.
Deshaun Watson is going to need a new contract and might wait to see if he can catch some overflow from what Mahomes gets. Quarterbacks further down the line that will want to see what Mahomes’ deal looks like include Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and Josh Allen with rookies and incoming players with star potential like Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, and Trevor Lawerence. None of those players are remotely close to getting new deals (Lawerence isn’t even in the league yet) but Mahomes’ deal will set the tone for what is expected in a quarterback’s contract.
None of those players are Mahomes, so none of them will get identical contracts. But just like he’s elevating play on the field, Mahomes will raise the bar for all quarterbacks who follow him when it comes time to get paid.