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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the best quarterbacks in today’s game. So, how does his current contract stack up compared to other deals handed out to NFL gunslingers in recent years?
In 2024, Mahomes’ contract is the largest in total value. However, the three-time Super Bowl MVP doesn’t crack the top 10 regarding average annual values in the current quarterback contract landscape. Mahomes’ deal isn’t in the top dozen contracts that guarantee the most money.
Leading the way in both AAV and guaranteed money in 2024 is Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who signed the biggest contract in NFL history right before the season started. His deal guarantees $1 million more than previous record holder Deshaun Watson’s fully guaranteed deal with the Cleveland Browns.
Here are the full details on Patrick Mahomes’ contract and how it stacks up to Prescott’s megadeal:
Mahomes signed an extension with the Chiefs roughly two months after Kansas City decided to exercise his fifth-year option in 2020.
The deal was a 10-year extension that would last through the 2031 season for $450 million. It also included millions of dollars in incentives worth up to $503 million.
It was the biggest contract in American sports history at the time, surpassing Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout’s 12-year, $426.5 extension to stay in Anaheim. Another (former) Angels star, Shohei Ohtani, passed the value of Mahomes’ deal with his $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Of Mahomes’ contract’s original $450 million total value, just $141.5 million was guaranteed. Last September, the Chiefs restructured the gunslinger’s deal to further front load the contract between 2023 and 2026 while guaranteeing more money. Over those four years, Mahomes is set to make $210.6 million, for an average annual value of about $52.7 million annually, all of which is guaranteed.
The 29-year-old quarterback also has escalators built into the deal. He’ll get an additional $1.25 million if he wins another MVP award and makes another conference championship. He’d also receive $1.25 million more with a Super Bowl win if he also plays 50% of snaps in the regular season or the Super Bowl.
Mahomes and the Chiefs shared the belief that the new structure opens up an opportunity to renegotiate after the 2026 season.
Who’s the highest-paid NFL player?
Despite his evident talent on the field and ever-growing football résumé, Mahomes is not the league’s highest-paid player.
That distinction belongs to Prescott, the Cowboys quarterback who signed a four-year, $240 million deal just before the 2024 regular season began.
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His deal holds the NFL record for highest AAV with $60 million per year, passing a tie between the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence, the Bengals’ Joe Burrow, and the Packers’ Jordan Love at $55 million per year. It also broke the record for most guaranteed money at signing at $231 million. That’s $1 million more guaranteed than Watson’s $230 million, fully guaranteed contract with the Browns.
Now that Mahomes is making about $52.7 million per year over the next four years, his “real” or “current” AAV is more in line with other top earners. That number puts him just ahead of the Chargers’ Justin Herbert ($52.5 million per year, seventh highest total AAV) and just below the Lions’ Jared Goff ($53 million per year, sixth).