It’s good to be a quarterback in the NFL these days. The contracts for starters have ballooned to historic degrees over the last few years and each passing deal seems to dwarf the next. The most recent example of this comes in Philadelphia where the Eagles signed Jalen Hurts to a mega extension that has an average annual value of $51 million per season, which is the highest among all players let alone quarterbacks.
These types of deals have an impact across the entire NFL, especially those who may now be playing on an inferior deal because of all this drastic movement, which is a growing case in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes. The two-time Super Bowl champion signed a monster 10-year, $503 million contract extension with the Chiefs back in 2020. While that long-term commitment links Mahomes to the organization for the bulk of his career and is the largest contract in American professional sports history, he is now the sixth-highest-paid quarterback from an AAV standpoint. Mahomes could fall even further down the list once Joe Burrow in Cincinnati and Justin Herbert in L.A. ink their looming extensions.
But this reality isn’t lost on the Chiefs. During his pre-draft press conference, GM Brett Veach made note of Mahomes’ contract and acknowledged that an adjustment could be coming once a few more deals go down.
“We have a special relationship with [Mahomes] and his agent. We’re in constant communication,” Veach said Thursday, via Pro Football Talk. “It’s one of those things — and I think coach [Andy Reid] hinted on this in his last press conference — where as soon as one guy gets done, it’s kind of the blueprint and the model. And a few years later, it’s jumped and exceeded.
“But I think that this organization and the relationship we have with Pat will always be working to make sure that we’re doing right by everybody. There will be a couple more contracts that still have to get done — Burrow and Herbert — and once they do, I think you kind of look at everything and assess where you are and what you can do and take it from there.”
For what it’s worth, Spotrac has a projected contract for Burrow that pays him $48.1 million in AAV with a six-year, $288.9 million contract. Meanwhile, Herbert is projected by the site to fetch a six-year, $279 million contract with an AAV of 46.5 million. Whether or not these deals are close to the one’s that they ultimately sign, it’s almost certain that Mahomes’ adjustment will surpass them and re-establish the top QB in the NFL as the highest-paid QB in the NFL. And that appears to be something the Kansas City brass is gearing up for.
Source: cbssports.com
