Patrick Mahomes Deal Highlights Eagles Strategy with Carson Wentz
Patrick Mahomes is different and it’s tough to make any comparison with the 10-year extension the Kansas City Chiefs’ superstar quarterback agreed to on Monday.
With two years left onto his rookie deal Kansas City tacked on another decade for Mahomes and the deal is worth $450 million per ESPN, north of Mike Trout’s $430M contract with the Los Angeles Angels that had been the largest in pro sports history.
The deal ties Mahomes with the Chiefs until 2031 although few believe he will see the length of the contract without significant revision down the road. Former Eagles QB Donovan McNabb once signed a 12-year extension in 2002 and Drew Bledsoe signed a 10-year deal with New England the year prior so the length is not historic but the money is and it also serves as another reminder of why the Eagles act like they do when it comes to contracts.
The goal, dating back to the days of former team president Joe Banner, is to identify core players early and sign them to team-friendly deals.
Sometimes those contracts don’t necessarily look team-friendly when pen is put to paper but as Banner always explains, the cost never goes down. Perhaps that changes down the road due to COVID-19 but Mahomes is the latest example that it probably will not.
When Carson Wentz signed his four-year $128M extension with $107M of guarantees in June of 2019 many gasped at the largest outlay of guaranteed money in league history. Just over a year later Jared Goff, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers have already lapped the fully-guaranteed cash in Wentz’s contract and Mahomes has devastated it.
Meanwhile, every day that passes when it comes to division rival Dallas and Dak Prescott means the Cowboys have to pay that much more of a premium.
That's proactive vs. reactive in action.
Howie Roseman, of course, interned under Banner and learned that most valuable lesson - always strike early when it comes to contracts.
There is a certain cost of doing business at the QB position when proven veterans graduate from their rookie contracts. With Wentz, however, what was once was regarded as historic in its own right only 13 months ago is now officially team-friendly.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
