Money speaks in the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs are giving a lot of it to Patrick Mahomes.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the Chiefs have reworked Mahomes’ contract. He gets two more years, extending him through 2033, and the value of his contract will be $504.75 million total according to ESPN. It’s the NFL’s first $500 million deal.
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Not that there was any question about the Chiefs’ commitment to Mahomes, but the extension comes at an interesting time. Mahomes is coming off a torn ACL, and while all signs are positive for him being ready for Week 1, it isn’t guaranteed yet. The Chiefs are coming off their first losing season in the Mahomes era as well, a 6-11 clunker that left them out of the playoffs for the first time since drafting Mahomes.
Mahomes has been paid like the greatest of all time, and he earned that deal. But what happens over the course of this current contract will determine how he’s remembered. More specifically, we’ll see if Mahomes can catch Tom Brady and be recognized the greatest quarterback ever.
Patrick Mahomes agreed to a record contract extension with the Chiefs. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
(David Eulitt via Getty Images)
Patrick Mahomes’ chase for history
When Brady tore his ACL in the 2008 season opener, he was 31 years old and in his ninth NFL season. Mahomes tore his ACL near the end of his ninth season, at 30 years old.
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Had Brady never had another elite season or won another Super Bowl after that, he would have been remembered as an all-time great and would certainly have been a Hall of Famer, but probably not the greatest quarterback ever. Brady ended up playing 23 seasons and was still good into his mid-40s. It’s impossible to expect Mahomes or anyone else to replicate that. But Mahomes has to stack some good seasons together to stay in the race.
Mahomes had arguably the greatest start to any career in NFL history. Through his first six seasons as a starter, he had two MVPs, three Super Bowl rings and three Super Bowl MVPs. It’s hard to be better than that. But it has slowed down a bit, from nearly perfect to simply great levels.
As we know now, Brady’s career was just getting started after his ninth season, when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Chiefs are clearly banking on Mahomes doing the same.
Mahomes’ numbers have dropped
The Chiefs haven’t had the same level of offense that they had in Mahomes’ first few seasons, when he was producing at an unheard of pace.
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From Mahomes’ first season as a starter to his fifth, he averaged 4,791.4 yards and 38.4 touchdowns with a 106 passer rating. The Chiefs were 63-16 in his starts those seasons. In the three seasons since then, the averages are 3,899.3 yards, 25 touchdowns, a 92 rating and a 31-15 team record. That’s a massive difference.
The cast around Mahomes has eroded, as Tyreek Hill was traded, Travis Kelce has aged and no other receiver has been a reliable star for him. Anyone who has watched Mahomes play still sees how good he is, just like it was hard to blame Brady for a dip in his numbers with a bad offense surrounding him in 2006. But ultimately, all that will matter when Mahomes’ career is ultimately judged is results.
The 6-11 Chiefs record last season created questions about whether the team’s dynasty was over. The Chiefs fell apart without Mahomes but were only 6-8 with him in the lineup (close losses contributed to that, but an inordinate amount of close wins buoyed the Chiefs the season before that). If the Chiefs’ dynasty is fading and Mahomes’ numbers stay at a good but not otherworldly level, how will we remember his career?
That’s a question better answered down the road, though it will be unveiled bit by bit over the next eight seasons, the length of Mahomes’ newly extended contract. He’ll be 38 years old by the end of the 2033 season, when that deal is set to expire.
Mahomes has made plenty of history already, including his new deal that surpasses $500 million. Now we get to see how much history is yet to come.
