The Kansas City Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes have agreed to a contract extension that will set a whole new precedent for signal-caller deals in the future.
The fourth-year sensation put pen to paper on a 10-year extension that keeps him in Kansas City through 2031, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes have reached agreement on a 10-year — 10-year! — contract extension that ties him to Kansas City through the 2031 season, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 6, 2020
Although full terms are unknown, the agreement will make Mahomes the highest-paid player in NFL history, giving him north of $400 million when all is said and done. Some have speculated that the deal could be tied to the salary cap, meaning that Mahomes’s salary would increase when the salary cap level increases.
With two years left on his current deal, the new 10-year pact means that Mahomes has 12 more years before he becomes a free agent for the first time in his career.
The Texas Tech product was drafted 10th overall in the 2017 draft after nine other teams passed on him. The breakdown of the first 10 picks in that draft are as follows:
| Misc | Approx Val | Passing | Rushing | Receiving | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rnd | Pick | Tm | Player | Pos | Age | To | AP1 | PB | St | CarAV | DrAV | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | Solo | Int | Sk | College/Univ | |
| 1 | 1 | CLE | Myles Garrett | DE | 21 | 2019 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 22 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 30.5 | Texas A&M | College Stats | |
| 1 | 2 | CHI | Mitchell Trubisky | QB | 23 | 2019 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 27 | 41 | 811 | 1280 | 8554 | 48 | 29 | 157 | 862 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | North Carolina | College Stats | |||
| 1 | 3 | SFO | Solomon Thomas | DE | 22 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 14 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 6.0 | Stanford | College Stats | |
| 1 | 4 | JAX | Leonard Fournette | RB | 22 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 20 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 666 | 2631 | 17 | 134 | 1009 | 2 | LSU | College Stats | |||
| 1 | 5 | TEN | Corey Davis | WR | 22 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 55 | 0 | 142 | 1867 | 6 | West. Michigan | College Stats | |||
| 1 | 6 | NYJ | Jamal Adams | S | 21 | 2019 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 28 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 210 | 2 | 12.0 | LSU | College Stats |
| 1 | 7 | LAC | Mike Williams | WR | 22 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 15 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 30 | 1 | 103 | 1760 | 12 | Clemson | College Stats | |||
| 1 | 8 | CAR | Christian McCaffrey | RB | 21 | 2019 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 38 | 38 | 48 | 1 | 3 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 623 | 2920 | 24 | 303 | 2523 | 15 | Stanford | College Stats | |||
| 1 | 9 | CIN | John Ross | WR | 22 | 2019 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 49 | 716 | 10 | Washington | College Stats | |||
| 1 | 10 | KAN | Patrick Mahomes | QB | 21 | 2019 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 39 | 31 | 724 | 1099 | 9412 | 76 | 18 | 110 | 500 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Texas Tech | College Stats | |||
Mahomes earned the victory in his NFL debut (his lone appearance in 2017) but failed to throw a touchdown. While fans were still optimistic, some critics had doubts about Mahomes’s ability to limit interceptions. All of those doubts diminished, however, once he took over at quarterback in 2018 following the departure of Alex Smith.
Mahomes’s 2018 season was one for the history books as he went on to being named a First-Team All-Pro. He was also selected to his first Pro Bowl. He went 12-4 and led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship before ultimately falling to the Patriots in overtime. During the regular season, he made 16 starts and completed 383 of 580 attempts for 5,097 yards. He led the league in both touchdowns (50) and touchdowns per pass attempt (8.6 percent). He threw 12 interceptions. He also showcased his work on the ground, accumulating 60 carries for 272 yards and a pair of scores.
Mahomes avoided the Madden curse in 2019 as he was selected to the Pro Bowl again and even helped the Chiefs win their first Super Bowl in five decades. During the regular season, he made 12 starts while missing four games due to injury. Nonetheless, he completed 319 passes on 484 attempts for 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns. On the ground, he added 43 rushes for 218 yards and two more scores.
It will be fascinating to analyze the terms of this mega-deal once they are announced. All in all, though, let us recognize how incredible it is that Patrick Mahomes just became the highest-paid player in football history after just two years in the league.
It’s safe to say the Chiefs made the right choice on April 27, 2017.
