NFL Rumors: Chiefs won’t pay Alex Smith more than $15 million per year?
By Bryan Rose
The Kansas City Chiefs still want Alex Smith as their quarterback and they’re willing to pay him handsomely to remain under center. But the question remains, how much does Alex Smith want?
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We’ve heard rumors suggesting that Smith wants a contract worth more than the $126 million dollars handed out to Jay Cutler by the Chicago Bears, and it makes sense for Smith’s camp considering statistically he performed better than Cutler.
That said, paying an annual figure of $18+ million dollars to a quarterback like Smith isn’t smart financially which is why the Chiefs aren’t likely to do so, this according to ESPN’s Adam Teicher who says Kansas City is likely to offer more in the $14-15 million range per season.
"Jay Cutler got a $126 million contract from the Chicago Bears recently, or an average of $18 million over seven years. But I don’t see the Chiefs going that high for Smith. I’d be very surprised and I don’t think they should go to that number. I would think the Chiefs won’t go much if any past $14 million or $15 million. That’s a lot of ground to cover, so it’s fortunate they have nine months in which to get a deal done."
Whatever the case, even at $14-$15 million annually it’s a lot of money for what many consider to be a good game manager lacking a lot of franchise quarterback physical gifts.
Still it’s a much more reasonable figure for the Chiefs, who understandably don’t want to pay Smith the reported figures that approach Cutler territory.