Among the finances the Kansas City Chiefs could address this offseason to help free up cap space involves wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
2022 marks the final year of Hill’s three-year, $54 million contract with the Chiefs. The final year of his contract will bring about a $20.6 million cap hit, per OverTheCap. This is part of the reason why the Chiefs will enter free agency this offseason with $6 million in cap space, per Jason Fitzgerald of OTC.
To free up cap space Kansas City could give Hill a contract extension, which would reduce his cap number for next season and ultimately give them more spending money this offseason. That’s why one NFL analyst projects that the Chiefs will give Hill a hefty contract extension in 2022.
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Hill Projected to Earn $25 Million/Year
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report predicted some of the NFL’s next big contract extensions which included Hill, a player coming off a season in which he caught 111 passes for 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns.
Kay’s projected extension for Hill is for three years and $75 million, an annual rate of $25 million, which puts him near the top of the pay scale for NFL wide receivers.
“The Chiefs will want to move fast if they plan to keep Hill, as Davante Adams’ next contract could further raise the market on top-tier wideouts,” Kay wrote. “A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf and other notable receivers have contract negotiations on the horizon as well, which may push Hill’s value even higher.”
New Restructure Potential Shows Chiefs’ Real Cap Space
A new page on the OverTheCap website shows the “restructure potential” for each NFL team.
The page shows what each team’s cap space would look like for the 2022 season if they restructured all their current contracts by converting “scheduled payments such as base salary or roster bonuses into signing bonuses that are prorated equally across the length of the contract, over a maximum of five years,” per the website.
For Kansas City, if they were to do “simple restructures,” they would have $58.1 million in available cap space. If they were to do “maximum restructures,” they would have $94.7 million in available cap space.
Those numbers don’t exemplify how much money the team will actually free up this offseason to spend. However, it tells us the kind of flexibility the Chiefs have with their current player contracts to move around money, bring in/retain players, and continue to compete for championships moving forward.
What Can Chiefs Do To Free Up Cap Space?
Outside of Hill, one of the easiest ways for the Chiefs to free up cap space in 2022 is adjusting quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ contract, who will be on the books with a $35.7 million cap hit this upcoming season. One way to adjust his contract was figured out by former sports agent and salary cap expert, Joel Corry.
“The KC Chiefs would create $21.92M of 2022 salary cap room by converting Patrick Mahomes’ $27.4M 3rd day of the 2022 league year roster bonus (3/18) into signing bonus. Mahomes’ 2022 cap number would go from $35,793,381 to $13,873,381,” Corry wrote on Twitter.
Other ways the Chiefs can free up cap space involve other players.
Defensive end Frank Clark has a contract that could be dumped. He will have a $26.3 million cap hit in 2022. However, if Kansas City were to cut him pre-June 1, then they would save $12.7 million in cap room while also having to eat $13.6 million in dead money, per OTC.
Another maneuver — but one that will create the least amount of cap room — involves veteran linebacker, Anthony Hitchens. He has a $12.6 cap hit in 2022, which is also the final year of his contract. Cutting him pre-June 1 would free up $8.4 million in cap room, but Kansas City would also have to deal with $4.2 million in dead money, per OTC.
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Analyst Predicts Hefty Contract Extension for Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill