On Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles signed quarterback Jalen Hurts to a five-year, $255 million deal with $179 million guaranteed. There is no problem with the contract, but Hurts’ deal is the latest to show where the quarterback market is heading.
Daniel Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract earlier in the offseason, an average of $40 million per season.
To put things in perspective, Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million deal in 2020. Since then, quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, and Hurts have signed contract extensions that average more money on a yearly basis.
It is also important to take into account that Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Trevor Lawrence are all in line to receive contract extensions in the near future.
At the moment, Mahomes is the sixth highest-paid quarterback in terms of average money made per year at $45 million. Because Mahomes signed a 10-year deal, that contract will be restructured at some point to meet his market value, but I believe that will not happen for a couple of years at least.
During this time, there will be other quarterbacks paid on higher yearly averages, giving the Chiefs more flexibility than other teams to build a strong roster around the two-time Super Bowl champion.
Also, if the Chiefs continue to draft the way that they have been in recent years, it will be easier to manage with cheap contracts around Mahomes.
Mahomes has also shown a willingness to help out the Chiefs by restructuring his contract to open up cap space. He did so earlier this offseason, converting some money in his contract into a signing bonus to open up $9 million.
The 10-year deal allows Brett Veach and the Chiefs’ front office to view the market on a yearly basis, giving the organization different avenues to construct an all-around roster.
Despite having less talent on the outside compared to other teams like the Bengals, Chargers, and Eagles, among others, Kansas City won the Super Bowl. By giving contract extensions to Burrow and Herbert that will most likely exceed $50 million per season, the Bengals and Chargers are not going to be as loaded as they have been in recent years.
The Chiefs were able to succeed despite having to sacrifice pieces like Tyreek Hill. Will the Bengals and Chargers be able to duplicate what the Chiefs have done once they have paid their franchise quarterbacks? That is yet to be seen, but if these teams think it is tough to beat the Chiefs with quarterbacks on rookie contracts, then good luck when those contract extensions kick in when they are ultimately signed.
Signing Mahomes to an extension a couple of years ago was supposed to be the beginning of the Chiefs’ slight decline. However, Mahomes has won another Super Bowl and earned his second MVP since then. The Chiefs are also heading into 2023 with arguably the best team with Mahomes since he was drafted by the Chiefs.
Kansas City will have more opportunities to add immense talent to the roster. Outside of needing a right tackle and wide receiver, the Chiefs have no glaring needs. Having 11 draft picks in the upcoming draft gives the Chiefs the option of being very aggressive in the draft or going with the best player available.
Teams around the league, and specifically the AFC, need to realize that if they want to catch the Chiefs, they better do it while their quarterbacks are on rookie deals. Once those quarterbacks are playing on expensive contracts, the less loaded the roster will be.