Getty Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
It’s okay to wonder whether Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is okay with not being the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. But the extent to which Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has taken interest in Mahomes’ contract situation has caused him to be criticized heavily by Chiefs Kingdom.
On April 25, Florio posted an article in which he detailed the three-year cash flow for NFL quarterbacks. The point of the article was to highlight how “badly Patrick Mahomes needs a new deal,” as he put it, and the numbers showed that Mahomes is the 10th highest-paid quarterback based on three-year cash flow (he might be 11th now that Lamar Jackson signed a new deal, but that’s TBD).
In an article published on May 1, Florio shared a quote from Chiefs owner Clark Hunt in which Hunt stated that Mahomes would be underpaid no matter what he’s paid. Florio followed that up with a suggestion for the Chiefs and Mahomes to help Mahomes remain as one of the top-paid players in the NFL year-over-year.
“The most fair solution for Mahomes and the team would be for Mahomes to get a guaranteed percentage of the cap, every year of his deal,” Florio wrote. “That would protect him against market changes sparked by the never-ending increases in the salary cap. And it would give the team certainty as to the cents-per-dollar available to put a team around him.
“Other players have tried to get it. No team has agreed to do it. If Mahomes would demand it, he’d get it.”
Mike Florio Kickstarted Patrick Mahomes Contract Rumors
On May 9, Mike Florio reported that Patrick Mahomes will once again be the highest-paid player in league history before the start of the 2023 season.
“Whether big-picture proclamations or devilish details, a new deal is coming for Mahomes, sooner than later,” he wrote. “He has more than earned it — and with each new quarterback deal that is done, his own situation becomes more glaring. Look for that to at least be partially rectified in the coming weeks or months.”
Lastly, on May 27, Florio wrote an article in which he explained how Mahomes is “trying to strike the balance between too much and not enough.” Florio detailed that Mahomes is trying to find a happy medium between getting what he deserves financially from Kansas City while also leaving enough on the table for his teammates. Florio also pushed the narrative that Mahomes has a history of wanting to be the league’s highest-paid player.
“When Mahomes signed his current 12-year deal, he pushed the bar for highest-paid player in league history by a whopping $10 million per year,” Florio wrote. “So, obviously, money was an issue then. Now, just three years later, he has fallen $7 million per year behind the current highest-paid player, Lamar Jackson. How is money not an issue now?
Florio then went on to suggest that quarterbacks in the NFL should consider forming their own coalition of sorts and get paid by both the team and the league due to their marketing value.
Chiefs Fans Fueled by Patrick Mahomes’ Comments
Speaking to the media after Day 3 of organized team activities (OTAs) on May 24, Patrick Mahomes was asked how he feels about the current state of his contract.
“I always keep – me, my agent and the team always keep open communication,” Mahomes said. “We try to do whatever is the best for the team but obviously I want to do the best for myself as well. But at the same time, I’ve always said, I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment. But I know we keep communication. We see what’s going on around the league but at the same time I’ll never do anything that’s going to hurt us from keeping the great players that around me. So, it’s kind of teetering around that line.”
With Mahomes being very dismissive of any hard feelings he might have regarding his current contract situation, fans took aim at Mike Florio for trying to create drama between Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“I don’t remember anyone saying this b*llsh*t when Tom Brady was taking a lot less and winning rings,” one Twitter user wrote. “Mahomes is living rent free in everyone’s head.”
“This man is so obsessed with how much Mahomes make he can’t sleep at night,” another user wrote. “(Mahomes) made over 20 million in endorsements last year alone. Now that you know he’s made enough to sleep comfortably at night while providing for his fam for decades, are you going to be okay Florio?”
“The idea that Patrick Mahomes is surprised he’s no longer the highest-paid QB gives no credit to his intelligence,” Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star wrote. “If the best needs to be the highest paid, he’ll have to up the contract every year. Maybe, just maybe, it was his choice to sign it and not the media’s fault.”
“Mad that Mahomes wants other dudes on his team to get paid is an odd thing to be mad about,” another user wrote. “You praised Brady for doing this, but have a different stance now.”