What makes a good captain and a visionary leader? Its the will to lead from the front and when situation demands, take one for the team. And with this recent update, Patrick Mahomes has shown why he is worthy of being called a leader. He may have just won his second Super Bowl MVP alongside his second Lombardi Trophy but he is not satisfied. In fact, the quarterback is taking things into his own hands to reshape the roster and make a re-run to the championship. And that includes taking a seven-digit monetary hit.
Kansas City Chiefs just restructured their star quarterback’s contract to clear up a significant amount of cap space. This gives them room to work things in the ongoing free agency. And clearly, with this kind of selflessness on display, one can’t help but make the Tom Brady comparisons.
The Chiefs had to make some adjustments to accommodate their free agency and drafting needs. And Mahomes readily agreed. Kansas City converted $12 million of the current MVP’s 2023 roster bonus to a signing bonus and cleared up around $10 million in cap space.
$9.6 million, to be precise, according to the reports from ESPN’s Field Yates. The Chiefs have distributed Patrick Mahomes’ salary burden over a few years, bringing his 2023 cap hit down from $49.3 million to $39.7 million.
The Kansas City Chiefs signed their star quarterback to a then-record 10-year $450 million contract back in 2020. However, even with the $10 million freed up, the franchise cap space is effectively only $13.6 million in the green. And that still doesn’t reflect the contract of KC’s recent acquisition from the San Francisco 49ers, defensive end, Charles Omenihu. With this move, Mahomes has registered his name with the NFL GOAT Tom Brady. But how?
Mahomes isn’t the only QB to undergo restructuring
It’s been done before, especially during the tampering period and legal negotiation window of the free agency. Seven-time Super Bowl champion and recently retired Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, Tom Brady, restructured his 1-year $25 million contract to a 1-year $15 million in 2022, freeing up nearly $9 million to enable the Buccaneers to gather sufficient ammo in their arsenal.
More recently, this week, Cleveland Browns restructured the contract of their QB Deshaun Watson. Watson, who became the highest guaranteed earner in the NFL with his $230 million five-year deal, agreed to get paid later, allowing the Browns to free up around $36 million in cap room.
Besides Omenihu, the Chiefs also roped in free agent OT from Jacksonville, Jawaan Taylor, and re-signed linebacker Tershawn Wharton. However, with JuJu Smith-Schuster joining the New England Patriots, the Chiefs have to provide some aid to the returning receiving group consisting of Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Skyy Moore, and Kadarius Toney. And maybe some of that Mahomes money will go towards getting a veteran wideout wearing red next season.
