Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes places 1 factor above all else, and it isn’t his contract
Star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has his personal definition of success, and his newest quote on his future contract standing ought to make each Chiefs fan soar for pleasure.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes prioritizes one factor at the start else, and that’s… his household.
Simply kidding. As much as one Phoenix Sports employee thinks Mahomes should be taking better care of his brother after Jackson Mahomes was arrested earlier this yr, he isn’t his brother’s keeper.
As an alternative, Mahomes has been maintaining his eye on the prize this complete time. Amid rumors that the Chiefs were going to make Mahomes the highest-paid player in league history with an impending contract restructure, the star quarterback made it clear that his thought of success isn’t tied to cash.
Per Nate Taylor of The Athletic, Mahomes’ high precedence is continuous to forge his legacy and win rings, and he would “by no means do something to harm [the Chiefs].”
Chiefs followers are already GOAT-ing him for these phrases. Have to be good to have a franchise quarterback like Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes on his contract within the NFL panorama: “I fear about (my) legacy & profitable rings than getting cash at this level. I’ll by no means do something that’ll harm this workforce. You wish to maintain the bar pushing. It’s not about being the highest-paid man.”
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) May 24, 2023
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes cares extra about profitable than cash
Whereas it’s totally doable for a participant to say one factor and do one thing completely different, Mahomes’ observe file appears to bolster that cash has not, in actual fact, been on his thoughts this offseason.
He signed a 10-year, $450 million contract in 2020 that was groundbreaking on the time; since then, different contracts have since left bigger, extra devastating craters on the quarterback panorama, probably the most seismic arguably being the fully-guaranteed deal Deshaun Watson acquired from the Browns.
The quarterback market has elevated from Russell Wilson’s $35 million AAV in 2019 in his extension with the Seahawks to over $50 million AAV this previous offseason, when Lamar Jackson’s five-year, $260 million contract with the Ravens jumped as much as the top-notch on the totem pole.
With different elite signal-callers like Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert awaiting their very own extensions, too, the quarterback market will solely proceed to soar sooner or later.
Good factor Pat and the Chiefs locked it down early — that jaw-dropping 10-year extension has aged like effective wine. Mahomes currently ranks seventh in the league in average annual salary ($45 million) and doesn’t look like searching for a wage bump, content material with letting others like Jackson and Jalen Hurts drive the market this offseason.
Extending Mahomes again then may be the Chiefs’ finest resolution within the final decade, ranked just under drafting Mahomes himself in 2017 and hiring Andy Reid in 2013.
Assuming what Mahomes mentioned is true, if and when the Chiefs do restructure his contract, he in all probability gained’t change into the highest-paid participant of all time for one cause solely: he doesn’t wish to. He’d a lot reasonably put the cash towards constructing one other dominant Chiefs roster subsequent season, which incorporates extending key supporting gamers and signing beneficial free brokers.
The 2-time Tremendous Bowl champ isn’t counting his cash in 2023, he’s counting the rings on his fingers. And newsflash: he needs extra.