Tyreek Hill Speaks on Leaving Chiefs: "Tyreek Wanted to be in KC"
On March 23, the Kansas City Chiefs made a blockbuster move to trade superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, sending one of the Chiefs' key pieces to Miami for five draft picks, highlighted by a first-round and second-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. As Hill landed in Miami, he signed a massive four-year extension worth up to $120 million with $72.2 million guaranteed. (The final year of Hill's deal is non-guaranteed, so the deal is effectively a three-year, $75 million extension.)
Since the trade, theories have surrounded the move, attempting to understand exactly how the Chiefs and Hill went from long-term contract negotiations to a shocking trade. In a teaser for his upcoming podcast, It Needed To Be Said, Hill himself adds to the conversation alongside his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and his co-host, Julius Collins.
"Once the season was over, we reached out to the Chiefs and we said, 'hey, y'know, we wanna keep it going,' Tyreek wanted to be there," Rosenhaus said.
Hill then interjected: "Say that again! Tyreek wanted to be in KC. Wanted — wanted to be in KC, man."
"We tried to do an extension with them," Rosenhaus responded.
Feb 3, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15), tight end Travis Kelce (87) and receiver Tyreek Hill (10) pose Nduring AFC practice for the Pro Bowl at Las Vegas Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
As an editorial note: Collins, Hill's co-host, indicates that the Chiefs "just didn't utilize" Hill properly, despite knowing what Hill was "capable of," then suggests that the Chiefs may have intentionally suppressed Hill's stats for the sake of a trade and/or contract negotiations. This is, obviously, absurd. If the Chiefs tried to suppress Hill's stats (more than 7,000 yards and 62 touchdowns in 91 regular season games alone), they did a pretty poor job of it. In fairness, neither Hill nor Rosenhaus is seen responding to that question in the clip.
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) celebrates after a first down catch in the first quarter during the AFC championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. Cincinnati Bengals At Kansas City Chiefs Jan 30 Afc Championship 54 © Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
Regarding Hill's desire to stay in Kansas City with a contract extension, this doesn't necessarily change the view of Hill's exit. While Hill shakes off the idea of demanding "a crazy amount of money" in the clip, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has acknowledged that the Dolphins did offer Hill's camp the largest contract, which made things difficult in KC.
Veach discussed the specifics of Hill's negotiation process during a press conference on April 22:
"I think the market kind of guides the delays or the efficiency of how things go," Veach said. "I think once the receiver deals started coming in, you knew it’d be a little tricky. When we looked at this offseason, on our agenda was to add talent to the defensive side – whether it be on the defensive line or in the secondary – and take care of Tyreek. And it became obvious as free agency started that it was going to be tough to do both. You’re faced with a decision, do you dip into the older, veteran pass rush market, and if you do that, how are you going to pay Tyreek and then how does Tyreek feel about that? If you do the Tyreek thing then you’re limited in regard to your resources being able to be spent on defense. Plus, the future, with that type of deal, would be impacted a great deal. So, when we took a step back and we figured ‘how are we going to get better on both sides?’ and that’s why we decided it was best for us and best for Tyreek getting that contract. So, it was kind of a win-win in that situation.
The first episode of Hill's podcast is set to be released on June 10.
