Chiefs make $44M offseason decision that impacts Patrick Mahomes originally appeared on The Sporting News Click here to add Sports News as your go-to source.
The Kansas City Chiefs knew they had a heavy workload under the salary cap heading into the offseason.
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Kansas City ends the season with an estimated 23 players hitting free agency and being $50 million over the salary cap.
The Chiefs’ first priority is to begin waiving contracts and clearing cap space to begin adding to their 2026 roster — the first of which came on Wednesday when the team cleared a chunk of salary with the help of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“The Kansas City Chiefs converted $54.45 million of QB Patrick Mahomes’ 2026 salary into a signing bonus, creating some much-needed cap space for the Chiefs,” Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald wrote.
“The move lowers Mahomes’ salary cap hit from $78.2 million to $34.65 million in 2026, freeing up $43.56 million in salary cap space for the Chiefs. This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Chiefs have restructured Mahomes’ contract to improve their salary cap situation.”
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As a result of Wednesday’s move, Mahomes’ salary cap hit will increase by $10.89 million each of the next four years. His 2027 salary cap hit is now an astronomical $85 million, which means the team may have to address his contract again in the next year or two. An extension is the most likely scenario.
Mahomes is in the fifth year of a 10-year, $450 million contract he signed in 2020, although that contract doesn’t begin until 2022. Considering there are 13 other quarterbacks making more per year than Mahomes right now, his current contract may be the best deal in the NFL.
Mahomes’ contract is likely to expire after the 2027 season and comes with a $57.16 million fixed salary cap penalty, which would essentially turn his contract into an eight-year deal worth $327.9 million.
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Even after changing Mahomes’ cap hit, the Chiefs are still $11 million over the cap and still have more moves to make.
According to “Over the Cap”, the deal to restructure defensive tackle Chris Jones will save $22.53 million. They could also receive $12.52 million by restructuring linebacker Trey Smith’s contract, $8.85 million by restructuring center Creed Humphrey’s contract, and $7.94 million by restructuring defensive end George Kraftis’ contract.
There is also speculation that the Chiefs will designate offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor for cut before June 1, freeing up another $20 million.