Two days ago, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes agreed to a new, restructured contract that gave him a significant raise for the short- and medium-term future while not requiring a completely new extension. It was noted that, while the overall value of his ten-year, $450MM contract didn’t change thus ensuring that his average annual salary didn’t change, Mahomes new deal set him up to potentially make $210.6MM over the next four years, the highest amount for that period of time in NFL history. It also sets him up to receive $56.8MM in cash for the 2023 NFL season, second only to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, according to Spotrac. 
This restructure was a nice reward for Mahomes, who, since receiving the original contract as a reward for winning the franchise’s first Super Bowl since the moon landing, has taken the team to two more Super Bowls, winning one of them, and has won a second league MVP award. But the new deal also serves a more magnanimous purpose.
“You’ve got to keep the bar going; you got to keep it moving,” Mahomes told Adam Teicher of ESPN. “I don’t want people to be negotiated against me, and so that’s the reason that you do something like I did…just trying to keep the market moving in the right direction…so not only me but other quarterbacks in other positions can get paid the money they deserve.”
That’s right. As odd as it may sound, Mahomes took a raise for the other quarterbacks in the league. He soundly reasoned that, as long as he continues to be one of the paradigms of the football world, anytime a young quarterback is up for a new contract, their accomplishments will be held in comparison to his.
The biggest downside of Mahomes’ incredibly long extension is that we have seen quarterback contracts more than double in value over the last ten years. Who’s to say how much they will continue to grow over the next ten? Perhaps, exponentially! If every young QB is being compared to Mahomes and their stats and accomplishments pale in comparison, they’ll constantly be dragged down to the level of his contract, fighting the natural inflation of player values.
Instead, Mahomes agreed to devise a way to raise the bar within the bounds of his current deal. As Jackson, Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, Daniel Jones, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, and Joe Burrow all have signed four- to six-year deals over the past couple of years, Mahomes decided to set a new precedent for deals ranging that amount of time. Mahomes has seen the value of the quarterback position continue to rise. As the reigning MVP and Super Bowl MVP, Mahomes took it upon himself to set a new bar that will continue to rise as quarterbacks earn new deals.
While Mahomes wanted to take care of himself and his fellow quarterbacks, he also didn’t want to hamper his team’s ability to win by bogarting all of Kansas City’s cap space. He wanted to make sure that general manager Brett Veach would still be able to surround him with the talent necessary for winning a third Super Bowl.
“You have to watch and see what’s going on around the league and find that right spot,” Mahomes said, “and I thought we found a good one in this negotiation…(in) that we will be able to still keep cap space for other guys to get signed.”
So, yes, Mahomes’ new contract makes him the highest-paid player in NFL history over the next four years, a just reward for his recent accolades, but it also raises the bar for what quarterbacks will be able to make in the future while preserving enough cap space to sign a talented crew around him. Who knew that becoming one of the richest players in NFL history could have such a selfless impact?
Is it that magnanimous? Players like to move the needle in the “right” direction, but without the salary cap, how long would teams in small markets last? As long as the money absorbing league allows them, which is likely forever. That’s fair.
But how competitive would teams be, year in and year out, without a cap (as flimsy as it currently is)? Mahomes is correct in the sense that his higher price will raise the negotiating floor for “lesser” quarterbacks. But is a recipe for success-or parity in football? A big contract is a win for the player who gets it, but a championship is a bigger win. Mahomes has two, and this restructure was more about gaining wiggle room for a third than it was about rewarding Mahomes for his stellar play. After all, it’s easier to negotiate with “Patrick Mahomes, highlight reel” than it is “Patrick Mahomes, highlight reel and multiple Superbowl champion”.
I may be, and probably am, wrong. These are just musings. It just seems like we are very eager, at least partially, to congratulate huge deals on the the parts of players without thinking about how easily this sport can turn into a ten team competition. Did Mahomes earn it? Certainly, as much as a football player can. I’m not arguing that he didn’t. But that’s a lot of cap to celebrate, even under the new restructure. We’ve seen that he needs receivers. And again, I could be wrong. Mahomes makes a great case for being worth what he is. This is more of a devil’s advocation at the end of the day.
Without the cap, it would be completely different, more like baseball, but there is a cap, so it doesn’t matter.
I mean…yes? I’m not sure what you are trying to say. There are people who don’t like the cap, and some who think that it is too easily circumvented (which is true). That’s why big contracts are always two sided. My point is that the cap does a lot to encourage parity, so there is a theoretical point where a contract exceeds the the value of the player for every player in the league. I don’t know, nor do I dare to guess, what that value is for Mahomes. It’s likely highest, or close to it, in the league. This may not even be it. But it’s there somewhere, whatever it is.
Yeah, because if someone were to get a contract close to $45 million a year, that would be just awful!?!
And he wonders why he doesn’t’ have a decent WR to throw to.
Irony at PFR at last! I like it.