It seems like ages ago, but it’s only been about three years since the Kansas City Chiefs traded up with the Buffalo Bills to select Patrick Mahomes 10th overall in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. Since then, the 24-year-old has captured an MVP award, won a Super Bowl and made his odd love of ketchup very public.
Now, with the 2020 NFL draft just days away, Mahomes is on the verge of reaching another milestone in his young career: the richest contract in NFL history. Though the Chiefs do not have to sign Mahomes to an extension, he is eligible to negotiate a new contract with Kansas City ahead of his fourth NFL season.
Doing so would be beneficial for both sides because it would put guaranteed money in Mahomes’ bank account — a lot of it — and allow Kansas City to plan for the future with the knowledge of how much funding was committed to the star QB.
Though no one knows for sure, several former agents and GMs who spoke to the Associated Press believe a five-year extension paying Mahomes more than $200 million in new money is in the cards.
Were that to happen, Mahomes — who is due to make just $2.7 million this season — would be the highest-paid player in the league by hitting the $40 million-per-year benchmark.
Once the draft is over and clients like quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy have new homes and deals, agent Leigh Steinberg will turn his focus to getting Mahomes his record-setting contract.
“Pat is a priority. The way we look at it now with all that is going on, we’re going to have a lot of time to work with,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told the AP ahead of this week’s draft. “It’s just hard to put a timetable on exactly when and how that will all work out. But we know and I’m sure he knows that it will get done and it will be taken care of.”
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