Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will likely have the richest contract in NFL history by this time next year. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Mahomes could sign a contract extension that is worth over $200 million and he would have an average salary of $40 million per year.
“He is expected, at some point during the offseason, to get a new deal done with the Chiefs that I would think, just guessing, is going to be excess of $200 million, over the course of that contract,” Schefter said on the ESPN show Get Up (via the Big Lead). In terms of the yearly value, Schefter theorized “five years, $40-plus million a year.”
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Mahomes has one year remaining on his rookie deal, so the latest he could sign is next offseason. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt was asked about Mahomes’ contract in March and he said the discussions have begun.
“It’s something we’ve begun to discuss, but really that’s a decision we’ll make down the road,” Hunt said to Pro Football Talk. “He had a tremendous year this year. We’re obviously eager to see him progress in Year Two as a starter. We’ll have a couple of chances here over the next couple years to extend him. And we’ll just have to figure out when the right time is to do that for the organization. Obviously, it has big salary cap impact. A lot has been made of the opportunities you have with quarterbacks on rookie contracts. So we want to take full advantage of that. At the same time we’re hopeful to have Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City for a very long time.”
Mahomes was selected by the Chiefs in the first round (No. 10 overall) in the 2017 NFL Draft. He became the team’s starter in 2018 and he emerged as one of the most exciting players to watch. The Texas Tech alum finished the season with 5,097 passing yards, 50 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions and he recorded a passer rating of 113.8. For his work last year, Mahomes was named Offensive Player of the Year and he was named league MVP. He also led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship only to lose to the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
This year, Mahomes has picked up where he left off. Through three games, the All-Pro has thrown for a league-leading 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns.
