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The Royals were once the toast of Kansas City -- a young baseball team on the rise, a group of players that stunned the sports world by making the World Series in 2014 before winning it all in 2015. But some lean years since have seen the NFL's Chiefs emerge as a worldwide phenomenon, with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes guiding the one-time also-rans to two Super Bowl championships in the past four years. Mahomes can lift the Lombardi Trophy again on Sunday, when the Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
But MLB's Royals want back in on the action. Monday saw the franchise make a huge decision that could transform its future and help it return to championship contention in the years to come.
Inside the Royals' comm-Witt-ment
The Royals on Monday reached an agreement with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on an 11-year contract extension worth a guaranteed $288.8 million. It represents the largest financial commitment to a player in Kansas City's franchise history, dating back to 1969 -- and it avoids uncomfortable conversations about potentially trading their star player.
The contract includes a team option for an additional three seasons after the 2034 campaign. If triggered, the extension's total value would be $377 million across 14 years.
Witt followed up a promising rookie season in 2022 with an All-Star caliber sophomore campaign in 2023. The 23-year-old hit for a .276 average and slugged 30 home runs to go with 49 stolen bases while also leading MLB with 11 triples. Witt, the #2 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, also played high-level defense at shortstop and has been touted as a future Gold Glove winner at the position.
Witt's contract is the first step in the Royals' process to build a new identity and embark on a new era -- which, they hope, includes a brand-new ballpark in downtown Kansas City. In two months, voters will make their decision on a ballot referendum that includes a tax hike which would fund a replacement for 55-year-old Kauffman Stadium, as well as renovations for Arrowhead Stadium next door.
Mahomes also signed into the next decade
In contrast to Witt, Mahomes' long-term future in Kansas City has never been in doubt. The Chiefs knew what they had in Mahomes when they selected him 10th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft and signed him to a humongous contract extension as soon as he was eligible in 2020.
Mahomes is under contract in Kansas City through the 2031 NFL season, under the of the 10-year, $450 million deal he signed in 2020. Other quarterbacks have since signed contracts that are worth more money annually, but Mahomes' extension stands alone as the largest financial commitment to a single player in NFL history.
With Mahomes and now Witt signed on for the long haul, it's not impossible that Kansas City re-emerges as the home of elite baseball and football teams -- a place that other teams must conquer if they want to win championships for the next several years.