Why Patrick Mahomes Could Get The Highest Paid Contract In NFL History

Hey Patrick Mahomes, now that you’ve won a championship in your second season as a starter and were named Super Bowl MVP, what are you going to do now?

Sorry, Disney World. Mahomes is probably going to the bank.

The winning quarterback of Super Bowl LIV is likely to be in line for a big contract extension that is expected to come early, even though he has another year on a rookie contract that was nowhere close to a reflection of his value to the Chiefs in his first three years. That's especially true for his two years as the starting quarterback, culminating in Sunday's dramatic 31-20 come-from-behind championship win over the San Francisco 49ers.

NFL insiders already expected that the Chiefs might look to sign a contract extension this off season with their 24-year-old franchise QB, rather than wait until his free agent season. He was MVP of the 2018 season after becoming only the third quarterback to throw for more than 50 touchdowns in a season, joining Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and now is Super Bowl MVP, and the thinking is, why would the Chiefs risk any chance of not being the ones to sign him for the long term?

See Also: Eli Manning Retires Having Made More Money On The Field Than Every NFL Player In History

ESPN's Adam Schefter said back in the fall he expected with the season Mahomes was having that he could sign for more than $200 million over five years, or $40 million a year. And that was before Mahomes led the Chiefs to their first title in 50 years.

If the Chiefs were to wait a year and pay Mahomes the roughly $5.2 million in salary and bonuses he is slated to make next year under the final year of his original contract, Mahomes would be among the lowest-paid quarterbacks in the league, according to Spotrac data, despite coming off two incredible seasons.

See Also: Richard Sherman Bet On Himself And Won: Will More Athletes Negotiate Their Own Deals?

If he were to sign a $200 million deal, it would vault him past the current highest paid quarterback, Seattle's Russell Wilson, who last year signed a $140 million four-year deal.

Measured by guaranteed money, Mahomes is just the 26th highest paid quarterback in the NFL, based on his original $16.4 million rookie contract. That puts him below Josh Rosen, Matthew Stafford, Andy Dalton, Kyler Murray and Cam Newton of the Dolphins, Lions, Bengals, Cardinals and Panthers, all of whom finished in last place in their division.