Patrick Mahomes signs 10-Year, $503 Million Contract Extension with Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback — MVP and Super Bowl MVP — Patrick Mahomes has reportedly signed a 10-year, $503 million contract extension with the Chiefs.
The length of the deal was first reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, but financial terms were later reported by NFL Network's Ian Rapoport before being confirmed by Mahomes' agents, Steinberg Sports.
Mahomes is now the recipient of the richest contract in sports history, topping a half-billion dollars, which will keep him in Kansas City for another 12 years in total.
Following earlier conflicting reports about the structure of the contract, Schefter reported that the deal will "not contain language that ties its value to a percentage of the salary cap," meaning that Mahomes' later-confirmed $503 million will come in a format comparable to typical NFL deals and not fluctuate as the NFL's salary cap could fluctuate (and grow) in years to come.
Mahomes' agents confirmed Rapoport's numbers, showing that Mahomes will be guaranteed $477 million "in guarantee mechanisms." If those guarantees aren't exercised, Rapoport says, Mahomes has ways out of the contract.
For a deal this long, and with this much still unknown connecting the NFL's salary cap to COVID-19 concerns, it's not surprising that the Chiefs and Mahomes ultimately agreed to a deal that held to a more traditional salary structure. However, the scale of this contract (and the potential of some unique forms of guarantees) make it record-shattering and still incredibly unique.
Obviously, for the Chiefs and Mahomes, enough long-term assurances were locked into place for both sides to allow for mutual comfort in a record-shattering deal for both sides.
Later in the day, NFL Network's Tom Peliserro tweeted out the yearly cashflow for Mahomes' deal.
Andrew Brandt correctly predicted that Mahomes' deal will be massive, but not majorly groundbreaking from a structure standpoint:
With the structure of the deal locked into place, the Chiefs have done what they absolutely had to do. Without being connected to a percentage of the salary cap, it even seems likely that the market will continue to grow in a way that makes Mahomes a value later in his deal, but by signing now, Mahomes gets long-term security and generational wealth. From the Chiefs' perspective, there was absolutely no choice other than to get this deal done. Mahomes is the league's most-valuable-anything, and the Chiefs clearly never balked at a long-term deal.
For Mahomes, this continues his relationship with Andy Reid — likely through the remainder of Reid's career, regardless of how long that lasts. Between Reid, GM Brett Veach and CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt, Mahomes will be well-paid and well-equipped to continue winning MVPs and Super Bowls as the leader of the Chiefs and the face of the NFL.
At 4:40 PM CT, the Kansas City Chiefs' official Twitter account and Mahomes' account tweeted out their own acknowledgments of the mega-deal.
Following the announcement on Twitter, the Chiefs released statements from Andy Reid, Brett Veach and Clark Hunt that can be read here in their entirety.
Note: This story has been actively edited over the course of the day to reflect new information as it has been obtained.
