Inside how the Chiefs landed Joe Thuney in NFL free agency blockbuster

The Kansas City Chiefs signed guard Joe Thuney to a record-setting contract in NFL free agency, and FanSided has the exclusive on how it came together.

Mike McCartney wasn’t going to wait.

As the start of NFL free agency’s tampering period approached at 11 a.m. CT, the Chicago-based agent was antsy. With the salary cap dropping from $198 million to $182.5 million, there was less money to go around. McCartney believed it was wise to act quickly with his top free agent, guard Joe Thuney.

Thuney, 28, was hitting free agency for the first time in his career. A five-year starter and two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, Thuney reached the market as the most sought-after interior offensive lineman made available.

“I went into this week knowing I had the top interior offensive lineman that was top of the market,” said McCartney, a 20-year NFL agent with 29 years in the league. “… With Joe not having missed a snap in five years, very clean, very consistent, reliable and versatile, where he could play anywhere in the line, I knew I’d have a strong market. I was also very anxious about the salary cap. Normally, I’m very patient and confident. I will admit, those couple hours I was extremely anxious this year. I just felt that teams were only going to go so far and that if I tried to stretch them too much, I could easily lose them.”

At the stroke of 11 a.m., McCartney’s phone rang. It was the Kansas City Chiefs. They wanted to talk about Thuney.

“Once I had some offers, we wanted to see if we could make it work with the Chiefs and pursued them earnestly,” McCartney said. “… I spent those couple hours singularly focused on Kansas City.”

For the Chiefs, who watched quarterback Patrick Mahomes get battered behind a makeshift line in Super Bowl LV five weeks prior, landing Thuney was a must.

Unbeknownst to the team, they already had someone advocating their strengths to Thuney; former Chiefs All-Pro right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.

During McCartney’s research in the lead-up to free agency, the agent asked Schwartz, another of his clients, to speak with Thuney. Schwartz laid out the situation in Kansas City, explaining what Thuney would be getting at One Arrowhead Drive.

However, Kansas City was far from the only suitor. There was a quartet of other AFC teams interested including the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers and Patriots, all who inquired about the former Second-Team All-Pro.

New England’s interest was recent but significant after being quiet much of the offseason. The Patriots had tagged Thuney only 30 minutes before free agency opened in 2020, a move that blindsided McCartney. The reaction was strong with McCartney believing his frustration perhaps backed New England off initially. Now, with Thuney about to become a commodity, Bill Belichick was back in play.

The Chargers were also serious, but made clear their top priority was center Corey Linsley. If they missed on Linsley, they’d circle back on Thuney.

Yet it was the Chiefs who made the first significant offer. They wanted Thuney for five years on a deal making him the highest-paid guard under contract, taking him through his prime. McCartney countered. He wanted three, giving his client a chance to hit the market once more at 31 years old. Conversations between McCartney, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and director of football administration Brandt Tilis continued.

McCartney made his position known. If Thuney was going to be locked in for such a lengthy term while the salary cap was set to explode with 17-game seasons and new TV money in the near future, he needed Thuney to be the highest-paid interior offensive lineman in NFL history. He needed $16 million per year.

“It was a healthy conversation,” McCartney recalled. “I said let’s explore four years. I did say this conversation is intended to get a deal done. I wanted to give them confidence that we were interested in the deal.

“When we hung up, they knew there was strong interest on our end. They came back with a four and five-year offer. When I saw the four, I thought we could get something done, when I saw the five I said ‘oh boy, this is what we were hoping for.’ I called Joe immediately and he was excited … When you get the whole third year practically guaranteed, that makes it easier to go for fourth and fifth year.”

Kansas City expressed its desire to land Thuney with important details within the contract. The most critical is the full guarantee of the third year, a rarity for offensive linemen throughout league history. In short, if the Chiefs don’t release Thuney by the third day of the 2022 league year, his third season of the deal becomes fully guaranteed. With the contract’s structure, there’s virtually no scenario Thuney isn’t in Kansas City through 2023.

Afterward, there are essentially two club options. In those years, Kansas City has until the third day of the league year to release Thuney, otherwise, he’s guaranteed $2 million in base salary for the upcoming campaign.

“When Kansas City made it clear they were serious, I talked to Joe,” McCartney recalled. “I said ‘Joe, I think this is a home run for a lot of reasons. It’s a great team, you’ll have a lot of weapons around you and a creative playcaller in Andy Reid who takes care of veterans during the week. You’re a midwestern guy from Dayton, Ohio, and the Chiefs are one of two teams (in the league) that has a college football atmosphere. There’s a lot here.'”

At 2:59 p.m. CT, a minute shy of four hours into the negotiations, a deal was struck. Thuney was going to Kansas City.

For Thuney, the agreement was representative of generational wealth, but the decision went far beyond dollars. He and McCartney extensively discussed finding a place where Thuney would be invigorated going into the building while enjoying the opportunity to consistently win. The other aspect was enjoying the time away from football, living in a place of comfort. Kansas City checked all boxes.

“Of course we want to maximize the contact, but I don’t want my guy in a miserable situation,” McCartney said.

For Kansas City’s part, Thuney was a top priority alongside landing a veteran tackle, something it has yet to find. With McCartney wanting to get the deal done quickly, good communication between the agent, Veach and Tilis helped the trio work through differences to find common ground in a pressurized situation.

And, with the Chiefs’ front office being creative in structure, the initial cap hit is only $4.5 million.

Moving forward, the expectation is Thuney remaining at guard, although his versatility allows for flexibility. The five-year veteran enjoys playing center and can handle tackle if need be, although with the Chiefs internal excitement about right tackle Lucas Niang, who opted out due to COVID-19 as a rookie last year, it’s tough to see the latter scenario playing out.

In the rare year where teams have issues with both the salary cap and liquid cash, McCartney and Kansas City’s front office brokered a record deal.

McCartney didn’t want to wait to find Thuney’s home. Ultimately, neither did the Chiefs.