Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs reportedly agree to record contract restructure

Patrick Mahomes received a generous (and well-deserved) present the day following his 28th birthday.

The two-time MVP agreed to a restructured deal with the Kansas City Chiefs that will bring the average annual value of his contract closer to what the highest-paid quarterbacks are earning, NFL Media reported Monday. Mahomes will receive $210.6 million over the next four seasons (2023-26), which is the most money ever for a player over a four-year span, NFL Media added in its report. He can reportedly earn up to $218.6 million by the time his restructured agreement ends in 2026. 

Mahomes originally signed a 10-year contract with the Chiefs in 2020 that was worth $477 million and had another $26 million in bonuses, bringing the possible total value to $503 million. The deal was a record-setting contract at the time, but seven other quarterbacks signed deals with higher average annual values than Mahomes since then. Four of those came this past offseason, with Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson all agreeing to record extensions.

With the news of Monday's extension, Mahomes has been guaranteed an NFL record $273 million since his contract was agreed to in 2020. Mahomes and the Chiefs plan to revisit the quarterback's contract situation following the 2026 season, essentially making it a four-year deal, according to NFL Media. 

Mahomes has had one of the most dominant five-year stretches for any quarterback since he became the Chiefs' starter in 2018. He won the MVP in his first season as a starter, becoming the second player in NFL history to throw for 50 touchdowns and 5,000 yards in the same season.

Kansas City has hosted the AFC Championship Game in all five seasons Mahomes has started. After losing to New England in 2018, Mahomes won the AFC title game in 2019 before winning his first Super Bowl in a win over San Francisco. He received his record contract extension five months later in July 2020. 

Between the 2019-21 seasons, Mahomes was statistically among the league's top passers. He led the league in passing yards per game in 2020 (316), leading the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl that season before losing to the Buccaneers. In 2021, he finished in the top five in passing yards (4,839) and passing touchdowns (37), but the Chiefs fell to the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.

Mahomes arguably had his best season in 2022. He led the league in passing (5,250 yards) and passing touchdowns (41), finishing second in passer rating by just 0.3 points (105.2). Mahomes won his second MVP and added to his legendary season with a memorable postseason run. He got revenge against the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game before leading the Chiefs to another Super Bowl win, defeating the Eagles while battling an ankle injury. 

Mahomes became the first quarterback since 1999 to win the Super Bowl and MVP in the same season. He also became the first player in NFL history to win MVP and Super Bowl MVP on top of leading the league in passing yards and in passing touchdowns during the regular season. 

Now, Mahomes is looking to do something that the Chiefs weren't able to do three years ago: repeat as Super Bowl champions. No team has accomplished that since the Patriots did it in 2003-04.

So far, the Chiefs have gotten off to a slow start. They were upset at home in their season opener, falling to the Lions when Travis Kelce was out with an injury and Chris Jones was holding out due to his contract situation. Both players returned for Week 2, helping Mahomes get the victory over the Jaguars on his birthday. Mahomes completed 29 of 41 passes for 305 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a rematch of last year's AFC divisional round tilt.