George Karlaftis is the latest member of the Chiefs to secure a big-ticket extension. Team and player have agreed to terms on a new deal, as first reported by NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
Providing details on the accord, ESPN’s Adam Schefter adds this four-year contract is worth $93MM; it includes $62MM in guarantees. The value of this pact is therefore almost identical to the extension guard Trey Smith signed in advance of the recent franchise tag deadline. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated clarifies the pact has a base value of $88MM and can top out at $93MM via incentives. $32MM is locked in at signing with the other $30MM in place as injury guarantees. 
To no surprise, Karlaftis had his fifth-year option picked up this spring. That decision kept him under team control for the next two seasons, leaving team and player plenty of time to work out a long-term extension. In time for training camp, though, one has already been taken care of. The 24-year-old is now on the books through the 2030 campaign.
Karlaftis now ranks 11th amongst edge rushers with respect to AAV at $22MM. A number of pass rushers have received attention in recent months, but Karlaftis has flown under the radar by comparison. Of course, the market has shifted recently (with T.J. Watt moving the bar to $41MM annually) and further mega-deals are expected later in the summer. This accord could look rather team-friendly in the near future.
The Purdue product was not as high as Smith on the extension priority, but he joined fellow 2022 first-rounder Trent McDuffie in discussing a second contract at least as far back as April. As a result, it comes as little surprise an agreement has been reached ahead of the 2025 campaign. Karlaftis has taken on a larger workload with each passing season to date, logging 831 defensive snaps during the regular season last year. He has also been a mainstay in Kansas City’s three trips to the Super Bowl during his career.
Karlaftis flashed potential with six sacks as a rookie and took a step forward with 10.5 the following year. While his sack total dropped to eight in 2024, he remained consistent in terms of quarterback pressures (37 after recording 35 the previous year). Kansas City will be counting on continued production in that respect for several years while keeping Karlaftis in place as a strong run defender.
One year after taking Karlaftis in the first round, the Chiefs made another Day 1 selection along the edge in the form of Felix Anudike-Uzomah. The latter was only a rotational contributor during his rookie campaign, but he took on a larger workload last year and should continue to develop into a regular on defense. He and Karlaftis will give the Chiefs a young pass-rush tandem for several years with Chris Jones still in the fold as the team’s defensive line anchor.
With Smith and Karlaftis now on the books for the foreseeable future, attention will turn to McDuffie. If an extension can also be worked out in his case before Week 1, another central figure in the team’s success will locked up for years to come. Regardless, recent days have ensured Kansas City will have key (and young) contributors on both sides of the line of scrimmage in the fold for 2025 and well beyond.
The MORE you wait, the MORE it will cost later.
SMART move by the Chiefs getting it done now.
Sssh…don’t tell Jerry that. He loves to overpay for his players.