The Kansas City Chiefs appear to have made one of their best decisions in franchise history when they traded up to draft Patrick Mahomes in 2017, and they are already prepared to shell out a historical amount of money to keep him with the team for years to come.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Chiefs are expected to sign Mahomes to a contract extension as soon as he’s eligible, which would be after the 2019 season. It would be a surprise if said deal wasn’t the richest in NFL history, and sources told Schefter it could potentially be the first $200 million contract the sport has ever seen.
In addition to having a potentially record-breaking contract on the horizon, Mahomes’ agent, Leigh Steinberg, says the star quarterback will be more heavily marketed this offseason. Steinberg, who represented Troy Aikman and Steve Young in the 1990s, said he deliberately had Mahomes avoid the spotlight before he became one of the top players in football.
“He’s a fresh face,” the agent told ESPN. “By holding him back, we haven’t overexposed him.”
While NFL contracts are only as good as their guaranteed money, Schefter notes that Mahomes’ deal is expected to “dwarf” the extension Aaron Rodgers signed with the Green Bay Packers recently, which pays him $33.5 million annually.
Mahomes is a heavy favorite to win the NFL MVP Award this year. He threw for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions in his first full year as a starting quarterback, which was one of the greatest seasons of any QB in league history. Even Andy Reid has not known what to say about some of the things his team leader has accomplished this season. If Mahomes continues to do what he did in 2018 for years to come, the Chiefs can’t possibly pay him enough.
