Patrick Mahomes has signed a record-breaking contract with the Chiefs.
The inevitable finally occurred on Monday as quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed his long-term extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. Considering that in three NFL seasons with only two as a starter that Mahomes has won NFL MVP, led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory and won Super Bowl MVP, there was no way they were letting him even close to getting away.
While the expectation was always that Mahomes would reset the already lucrative quarterback market, it was still shocking to see the numbers. Per multiple reports, Mahomes inked a 10-year contract extension with a potential value of over $500 million. The per-year details are complex with roughly $25 million in incentives along with various guarantee mechanisms.
What’s important is that Patrick Mahomes just signed the richest contract in NFL history, a deal that could keep him in Kansas City until he’s 36 years old. Interestingly, given how long quarterbacks are playing in the modern NFL, that could leave him open to signing another big-money contract to end his career.
Mahomes is worth every penny for the Chiefs. In fact, if the salary cap continues rising at it has with every year in recent history, Kansas City could end up with a bargain at the quarterback position, barring a renegotiation. But at the same time, the most interesting aspect of this record-setting contract isn’t that the Chiefs made a smart decision to sign Mahomes for this long.
Instead, the most interesting aspect is to consider that Patrick Mahomes’ new contract positions him to be the next truly transcendent sports star.
The next transcendent NFL and sports star is here with Patrick Mahomes.
When you think about the notion of transcendent stars in sports, perhaps the best way to define that is a player who is recognizable in every facet of sports, no matter of if someone is a fan of the league they play in. Guys like Michael Jordan, LeBron James or Tiger Woods come to mind, among a select few others. Patrick Mahomes has now entered that conversation.
To be sure, I shy away from some of the hyperbole that gets thrown out about Mahomes. He’s not the greatest quarterback of all time. He’s not the Michael Jordan of the NFL. He’s not already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But he’s well on his way to being that.
The Cheifs aren’t just paying for the league’s best quarterback in signing Mahomes to this contract. They are signing a megastar that has already established himself as the face of the franchise and the face of the league at just 24 years old. That can’t be understated both for the importance to the organization and, in truth, to the sustainability of the NFL at large.
For now, the safe money is on Mahomes continuing to compete for MVPs and Super Bowls with the Chiefs. But beyond even that, Kansas City is willing to give him this type of money for this long because he represents more than a great player. Yes, there are countless terrific players in the NFL right now — but Patrick Mahomes is the face of the future. And that face will be suiting up in a Chiefs uniform for virtually the entirety of that future.