The Kansas City Chiefs saw what nine other National Football League franchises didn’t in the 2017 NFL Draft when trading up to take Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes became the Chiefs’ starting quarterback in 2018, and the franchise hasn’t looked back.
Mahomes has won several awards to put on his mantle back home, but one of the priceless pieces of Mahomes’ game for the Chiefs has been his consistency. Mahomes is out on the field every game, giving the Chiefs the best chance at winning, and most of the time, they do have their hands raised in victory.
Because of the excellence that is Mahomes, a hefty compensation was due. The Chiefs and Mahomes agreed to one of the biggest contracts in the NFL, signing a 10-year, $450 million extension with the franchise back in July of 2020.
“In 2025, Mahomes will earn a base salary of $1,255,000, a restructure bonus of $47,745,000 and a workout bonus of $1,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $28,062,269 and a dead cap value of $94,488,045,” according to Spotrac.com.
On Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes in 2025, a list that features the likes of Stephen Curry, Shohei Ohtani, and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Chiefs’ quarterback ranks 18th on the list.
While the deal is already one that is impressive on the checkbook, the quarterback market has changed since the original signing of the contract. According to CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan, Mahomes could be the Chiefs’ candidate for another contract extension based on what other quarterbacks are making.
“Back in 2020, Mahomes and the Chiefs agreed to a 10-year, $447 million contract that could be worth up to $503 million. While that deal — which has Mahomes connected to Kansas City through the 2031 season — has been tweaked in recent years to give the Chiefs some cap flexibility, the quarterback market has changed rather dramatically,” Sullivan wrote.
“That could mean that they take a harder look at this deal to bring Mahomes up to a respective level. At the moment, Mahomes is making $45 million per season, which has him tied with Kirk Cousins (currently a backup) as the 14th highest-paid quarterback in the league. With Josh Allen recently reworking his deal to get him to $55 million per season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mahomes and the Chiefs follow suit.”
