Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt on reworking Patrick Mahomes contract: ‘One way or another he’ll be underpaid’

Patrick Mahomes is the seventh-highest paid player in the NFL in terms of average annual salary, one year into an eye-popping 10-year, $450 million contract (which he signed in 2020, but 2022 was technically the first year). Thanks to the rise of the salary cap and quarterback contracts inflating to record amounts, the Chiefs are going to have to re-work Mahomes’ deal during the life of this contract. 

Mahomes already has an MVP and a Super Bowl title in the life of the deal (one year) — and is the only quarterback ever to win two Super Bowls and capture two MVPs before the age of 30 (he’s just 27). He’s a Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert extension away from being the ninth-highest paid quarterback in the league by average annual salary, even if no quarterback has come close to matching his $450 million in total value.

That Mahomes contract is going to be altered, but Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt admits Mahomes will never make what he’s truly worth to the franchise. 

“Well, I don’t know that there’s really a way to quantify it financially and no matter what he makes over his career, I’m sure one way or another he’ll be underpaid,” Hunt said over the weekend. “The great thing about Patrick (Mahomes) is, when we did that deal, he recognized that he wanted to give the club the flexibility to build the team around him. And that contract was structured in that way.”

The Chiefs owe Mahomes a guaranteed salary of $40.45 million in 2023, as the cap number of $49,293,381 is the highest over the life of the deal. Mahomes’ salary is guaranteed on the third day of the new league year in future years under the life of the deal, which may be why the Chiefs rework the deal over time to save cap…