L'Jarius Sneed sends message to Chiefs, Brett Veach: 'Pay me'

The Kansas City Chiefs are once again Super Bowl champions after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime. With that, they won their third Lombardi Trophy in the past five years, cementing themselves as the NFL's next dynasty. But, the Chiefs have a interesting offseason ahead of them.

Throughout this past season, the Chief's defense stepped up in a huge way, making up for some of the offense's struggles late in the campaign. But they have two big-time players set to hit the open market -- defensive tackle Chris Jones and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed. At the Super Bowl parade, Jones said he won't be leaving the Chiefs.

But what about Sneed?

During an appearance on FanDuel TV's Up & Adams, host Kay Adams asked Sneed what he would like to say to Chiefs general manager Brett Veach. Sneed's message to his general manager was simple -- "pay me."

L'Jarius Sneed's message to Chiefs, Brett Veach ahead of free agency: 'Pay me'

If there is any player who raised his stock more ahead of free agency, it's Sneed.

The 2020 fourth-round pick out of Louisiana Tech had quickly established himself as a starter in Kansas City's secondary. In 2022, Sneed recorded 108 total tackles (75 solo, 33 assisted), 11 pass breakups, four sacks, three interceptions, and three forced fumbles. But in terms of coverage, Sneed allowed 69 receptions for 549 yards and four touchdowns on 104 targets, per Pro Football Reference.

This season, Sneed took a huge step forward in terms of pass coverage. In the team's entire 2023 season, including the playoffs, Sneed allowed just two touchdowns on the year, one in the Divisional Round against the Buffalo Bills and one in the Super Bowl against the 49ers. Overall, per Pro Football Focus, Sneed allowed just 53 receptions for 545 yards on 102 targets. Additionally, quarterbacks have had a passer rating of just 66.1 when targeting Sneed.

Spotrac projects that Sneed's market value is at $16.3 million per year, which would make him the tenth-highest-paid cornerback in the NFL in terms of annual salary.

The Chiefs are in an unenviable position. They have to players who are among the top options at the position in free agency in Jones and Sneed, and neither will come cheap. Although Jones said he would like to stay with the Chiefs, Sneed is letting the organization know that he wants to get paid. If not, one has to imagine that plenty of teams will be willing to do so.