How Kansas City Chiefs can sign Patrick Mahomes and not destroy future cap situation
By Mark Powell
As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to pay Patrick Mahomes, they need to keep their future options open.
Patrick Mahomes has started negotiations with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to reports that emerged on Thursday. Despite the necessary task of giving their Super Bowl MVP a record extension that will surely reset the market entirely, the Chiefs need to get creative.
There is no future in KC without Mahomes, but destroying their future cap space in the process will limit that success even further.
The Chiefs will give Mahomes a record contract, the likes of which currently sits with Russell Wilson, who will earn $35 million yearly with the Seattle Seahawks until his deal expires. As good as Wilson is, Mahomes’ youth and accomplishments at such a young age value him at least $5 million higher annually, and some would argue more.
How much can the Kansas City Chiefs pay Patrick Mahomes?
The Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes have begun negotiating his extension.
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) May 28, 2020
The deal will be “unlike any other, with potential new precedents,” per @mellinger.
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Kansas City can make Mahomes an unprecedented offer, which could even include ownership stake should they choose. A small valuation would pay out for years to come, especially as the NFL continues to grow as a product. Such a sell would force the 24-year-old to take slightly less capital in the interim, but secure his financial flexibility long into retirement. It’s a risky proposition, but so is giving over $40 million per season long-term to a player whose career can end at the drop of a dime. It’s just business.
Negotiations have begun regarding a second contract for the NFL's No. 1 player, and Patrick Mahomes should insist on a deal that ties future compensation to salary-cap percentage https://t.co/TLcHDgjnxq
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 28, 2020
Mahomes will get his full value, and perhaps one that takes future cap predictions into account. It’ll hamstring the Chiefs for decades as they hope to climb back to the Super Bowl mountaintop they’ve since surmounted with arguably the best young quarterback ever on a rookie contract.
Any proven quarterback’s second contract is a headache — look no further than Dak Prescott in Dallas. But, it can be somewhat circumvented by an organization with creative front office minds like Brett Veach.
At the very least, this is worth a shot.