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Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs are heading into hostile territory for Super Bowl LV, taking on the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their own field at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Chiefs are hoping to become back-to-back champions, thwarting the locals’ hopes of being the first squad to ever win as the big game’s host team.
The Chiefs quarterback is finishing up his fourth year playing as an NFL pro. After the Chiefs drafted him 10th overall in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft, Mahomes, 25, signed a four-year deal worth $16.4 million, according to Spotrac.
The dynamic young QB has already earned himself a Super Bowl ring under the terms of his rookie contract, making him an absolute bargain for the Chiefs.
According to NFL.com, Kansas City picked up the fifth-year option in Mahomes’ contract in April 2020, extending his deal through the 2021 season. ESPN later reported the franchise option was worth $24.8 million for Mahomes.
Last summer, Mahomes made history with a 10-year “half-billion’ dollar deal that will keep him in KC for the next decade.
Here’s what you need to know:
Patrick Mahomes Is Under Contract With the Chiefs Through 2031
According to Spotrac, Mahomes is earning an extremely modest $825,000 base salary for the 2020 season. Bolstered by a $4.5 million signing bonus, his salary cap hit of $5.3 million is almost inconceivable for a 25-year-old QB who already has led his team to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, but his relative affordability is temporary.
In June 2020, per the aforementioned report from ESPN, Kansas City locked Mahomes down long-term with a “massive” 10-year contract extension. The terms of the deal, as listed on Spotrac, are very lucrative.
“Patrick Mahomes signed a 10 year, $450,000,000 contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, including a $10,000,000 signing bonus, $141,481,905 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $45,000,000,” the outlet reported.
The fifth-year option that Kansas City picked up will see Mahomes paid just shy of $1 million base salary in 2021 ($990,000). He’ll also receive a prorated $2 million signing bonus, but the big money comes in the form of a $21.7 million roster bonus, giving him a cap hit of $24.8 million next season.
While Mahomes’ contract accounts for a mere 2.4 percent of the Chiefs’ 2020 salary cap, that will increase to more than 13 percent the following season.
Patrick Mahomes Has the Richest Contract in the NFL & in NFL History
As Spotrac lays out, Mahomes’ $450 million deal sets the pace among all NFL contracts by a wide margin — nearly a factor of three. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson is the owner of the second-richest contract, a four-year deal worth $156 million. Rounding out the top three is Atlanta Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan, whose contract’s terms pay him $150 million over five years.
In addition to having the highest total value, Mahomes’ new contract also has the highest average annual value (AAV) in professional football with $45 million. Watson’s contract is again good for second with an AAV of $39 million, followed by QB Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, whose four-year, $140 million deal carries an AAV of $35 million.
Moreover, Mahomes’ contract extension with the Chiefs is one of the longest in the history of the league.
“The only comparable deal in terms of length among active NFL players is left tackle Tyron Smith’s eight-year contract (2016-2023) with the Cowboys for roughly a quarter of the money. After Smith, 14 active NFL players are on six-year contracts,” Sporting News reports.
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