Patrick Mahomes #15, Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
The Chiefs remain Super Bowl champs, but Patrick Mahomes contract talks loom on the horizon.
Patrick Mahomes contract runs up at the end of the 2021 season, but the Chiefs would rather get a new deal negotiated long before then, as the former MVP will reset the market and then some. The 24-year-old could receive upwards of $200 million based on his youth and expected growth as the face of the NFL moving forward.
Signing Mahomes isn’t so simple, however, as agents Chris Cabott and Leigh Steinberg knows precisely what he’s worth (and wants his cut, to boot). With the Texas Tech product set to make under $1 million in base salary this season, but due for a massive pay increase in 2021, the Chiefs might be in the mindset of letting Mahomes play out his contract.
The Kansas City Chiefs could be willing to wait on a Patrick Mahomes contract extension.
On Thursday’s Pick Six podcast with Will Brinson, Matt Derrick of Chiefs Digest suggested paying Mahomes isn’t the franchise’s top priority.
“I think it’s going to be after the first of the year,” Derrick said. “Just, again, too many obstacles to get it done as far as just uncertainty with the salary cap and where the league is financially. But all along, really, both sides have targeted after the 2020 season when they thought it would get done.”
Derrick is correct in citing the number of obstacles in a deal like this, as we’ve never seen anything of the sort. Russell Wilson is the highest-paid QB in the NFL, making $35 million per year. Mahomes is expected to receive over $40 million annually, and even that might be generous on his part.
Waiting on Mahomes is risky business in Kansas City, but unless Brett Veach and Co. want to give in to rather lofty demands right away, it’s the best choice the Chiefs have at the moment.