Look: Chiefs Make Decision On Patrick Mahomes' Contract
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 21: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs scrambles to throw a touchdown pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first quarter in the AFC Divisional Playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 21, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
The Kansas City Chiefs face a tightrope act of maintaining a Super Bowl-caliber roster around Patrick Mahomes.
The star quarterback signed a 10-year, $450 million extension that went into effect last season. They must find creative ways to stay under the cap while paying Mahomes and other prominent players.
According to ESPN's Field Yates, Kansas City did just that by converting $12 million of Mahomes' 2023 roster bonus into a signing bonus. The maneuver frees $9.6 million in cap space at the start of free agency.
Per Over The Cap, Mahomes' cap number will dip to approximately $39.7 million, still accounting for 18.1 percent of the team's budget.
But no matter how they're paying him, Mahomes proved worth every penny when leading the Chiefs to their second Super Bowl title in four years. He also won his second regular-season MVP award when leading the NFL with 5,250 passing yards and 41 touchdowns.
Kansas City already made a major free-agent move by signing right tackle Jawaan Taylor to a four-year, $80 million deal. However, the defending champions have lost JuJu Smith-Schuster, Andrew Wylie, and Juan Thornhill. Pro Bowlers Orlando Brown and Frank Clark are also free agents.
While it's tougher to construct a deep roster behind a highly compensated quarterback, there are plenty of cap tricks teams can use to make it work. Especially when that quarterback is as great as Mahomes.
