He’s only going to be more expensive as time goes on, so the Kansas City Chiefs should offer Patrick Mahomes $200 million as soon as they can.
The Kansas City Chiefs should give Patrick Mahomes the biggest contract in NFL history.
At 24 years old, Mahomes has won NFL MVP and Super Bowl LIV MVP in his first two years as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback. He still needs to play a few years, but is well on his way to Canton. If the Chiefs want to ensure being in contention for the decade’s balance and beyond, they need to get out in front and offer Mahomes a $200 million contract extension this offseason.
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach should tear up Mahomes rookie deal and give his superstar quarterback a five-year, $200 million extension as soon as possible. Mahomes would be the first player to earn $40 million annually. The Chiefs can structure it however they please, but they need to pay him before the salary cap explodes in 2021.
Mahomes will be eligible for a fifth-year option this offseason, something the reigning Super Bowl champion will obviously get should it comes to that. He’d be under contract through the 2021 season before he’d even be eligible to hit unrestricted free agency. The Chiefs could technically tag him, but we know how terrible of a look that would be.
By giving Mahomes a five-year extension worth $40 million annually, mostly guaranteed, the Chiefs will have locked up their superstar signal-caller though the 2024 season at what will be a reasonable amount considering the cap’s trajectory.
Kansas City would then ensure he couldn’t play for anybody else before his 30th birthday.
Sure, it’ll be pricey, but the Chiefs will be thankful to have done this later down the line. The quicker they can get Mahomes to put sign, the longer they can keep their championship window open.
Of course, there may come a point where Veach and Co. may need to tear up this theoretical Mahomes extension and put together a new one in time.
However, signing Mahomes quickly to an extension would free up more capital for Veach to build the best championship-caliber team around him possible. The more money he has to work with, the better the Chiefs can be.