Patrick Mahomes Cap Influence – Paul Pulley – The first thing that jumped out at me was the $10M signing bonus. This is actually a paltry amount considering the size of the contract. This does help the Chiefs keep the cap number down, even though it technically adds $2M to the 2020 cap. The wording of the extension addresses this year and next year essentially keeping the two seasons cap hits unchanged.
A Look at Patrick Mahomes Contract Extension
What’s being reported is only $63M fully guaranteed at signing, but I believe that is closer to $65M. Basically, the first three years of salary… plus the full signing bonus… minus the workout bonus. It has also been reported that $140M is guaranteed for injury.
Future salaries and bonuses become fully guaranteed annually throughout the life of the contract. It looks as if the base salary and roster bonus become guaranteed on the 3rd day of the new league year, one year prior to becoming effective.
Additional Incentives
Starting in 2022 and for the final 10 years of the contract, there is $2.5M of incentives available each year. $1.25M for making it to the Super Bowl and $1.25M if named NFL MVP. If the Chiefs make it to the Super Bowl and Mahomes is named league MVP for 10 consecutive years, he will earn an additional $25M.
It appears there is a “No Trade Clause” so it seems we are stuck with him forever. 😇
Notable Observations
For the first seven years of this contract, nothing at all seems exorbitant. Not until 2023 does the cap hit exceed $40M. To gain a couple points of reference: in 2021 both Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan’s cap hits are over $40M.
Not until 2027 does this contract seem outlandish, with a cap hit of just under $60M. But who knows, by 2027, $60M may seem like a bargain. If one takes notice of the chart above, it’s not until 2027 that Mahomes base salary reaches 8 figures and if the money seems untenable at that time, this would present the perfect opportunity to restructure.
It’s very hard to look at a half billion — yes, I said billion — dollar contract and try to convince anyone that it’s team friendly, but for the first seven seasons, through 2026, it really isn’t cap cumbersome. For the quality of player the Chiefs are getting (Mahomes), at the most important position in all of sports (quarterback), this isn’t a bad deal at all, assuming the injury bug stays away (knock on wood).
Comparative Pay
For the 2020 season — and hopefully there is one — Patrick Mahomes will still be playing on essentially his rookie contract, with a modest cap hit of $5,346,508, an absolute bargain for a former league MVP, Super Bowl Champion and SB-MVP.
Looking ahead to 2021, as things sit now, Mahomes will be the 13th highest paid QB for next season. This seems like a pretty good deal to me. As things currently stand and of course we know they will change, Mahomes $31+M cap hit for 2022 will have him as the 7th highest paid QB for that season.
Finding Cap Space
If additional cap space is needed for this season, the most obvious solution would be to either get Chris Jones signed to a long term contract, thereby reducing his 2020 cap hit of $16+M. Or finding a trade partner to eliminate his salary completely. If things with Jones remain static the best alternatives for cap relief would be moving on from one or more of LB Damien Wilson, DB Daniel Sorenson or OL Austin Reiter.
Eric Fisher or Travis Kelce would provide more cap space than the three previously mentioned, but I don’t believe the Chiefs would be comfortable going into the season without those two.
An FYI Comparison for Fun
In the history of the US Lottery, there have been a total of 15 jackpots that exceeded $500M. Of those 15, 6 of them had multiple winners.
Paul Pulley — ArrowheadOne
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