Predictably, we learned on Wednesday that the Kansas City Chiefs restructured quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ previously astronomical $78 million 2026 salary cap number. In doing so, the team created about $43.6 million for this offseason, bringing itself much closer to compliance ahead of the March 11 deadline.
Mahomes and the Chiefs agreed to a historic ten-year contract in 2020. The half-billion-dollar extension did not actually take effect until 2022, after the expiration of his original rookie deal. Now four years into the pact, the agreement has already been altered significantly.
Kansas City has now restructured Mahomes’ contract four times to manage the league’s salary cap. By taking the maximum restructuring this offseason, the quarterback’s cap charge was reduced from over $78 million to only $34.7 million. A year from now, however, the Chiefs will again need to address Mahomes’ cap number — now slated to be over $85 million for 2027.
While Mahomes is nominally signed with the Chiefs through the 2031 season, 2027 is effectively the final true season remaining on the contract because of a major adjustment made in 2023.
At the time of signing, Mahomes’ $45 million average-per-year (APY) in new money set the mark. Predictably, other passers — such as the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow — quickly surpassed him. Currently, 13 quarterbacks have a higher average salary than Mahomes’.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, Mahomes has had the shrewd business sense to be unconcerned with the (often artificially inflated) APY — provided he is taken care of with guaranteed money.
The team and player found a compromise to the argument that the face of the league was woefully underpaid early in the 2023 season. Money was brought forward from the back half of the decade-long contract — and Mahomes was guaranteed a then league-topping $210.6 million over the 2023-26 seasons.
Now, the final season of the adjustment approaches, and it will be important that the Chiefs navigate a plan for 2027 and beyond.
In 2027, Mahome is scheduled to earn $52.9 million. Per Spotrac, $6.1 million of that will become guaranteed next month as a vesting roster bonus. The rest will lock in at the start of the 2027 league year.
Starting with a paltry $27.2 million in 2028, however, the quarterback’s scheduled earnings are unrealistic.
When the money was moved forward, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the sides would come back to the table after the 2026 season. While that timeline still holds, the position is largely settled leaguewide. With no young quarterback in line for a monster extension this offseason, 2025 did offer an earlier chance to map out the second half of Mahomes’ career.
Now, there is really no choice but to hammer out a new deal after the coming season. There is no situation with more disastrous potential than a team trying to ride out a lame duck season on a quarterback contract. Mahomes and the Chiefs have set a standard in a cordial, professional relationship between player and team. Nothing can change that dynamic more than future uncertainty.
In 2027, Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears and Drake Maye of the New England Patriots will be in line for lucrative new deals. Mahomes will easily clear both players in guaranteed money, but waiting on the young talent may be a complication.
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach is approaching his limit at the Bank of Mahomes. This offseason marked the final realistic chance to restructure the current deal.
A new contract will require some up-front creativity to manage deferred salary cap charges from the now four restructures. It may even cover more seasons than Mahomes is likely to actually play.
Provided the two sides can agree on a similar structure of guaranteed money — even if it artificially makes his APY appear low on paper — the Chiefs should be able to continue managing the cap through the rest of Mahomes’ career.
See More:
