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The Kansas City Chiefs, as always, have high expectations heading into 2024. That seems obvious given they've won two straight Super Bowls, but that's the standard due to having Patrick Mahomes. And the team has improved in key areas this offseason.
For the last few years, rivals of the Chiefs were waiting for Mahomes to command a lofty contract with a massive yearly cap hit that would hamper the team's chances of g good free agents. But Mahomes recently revealed that he's not looking for a bigger contract: "I think we do a great job of managing my money, to be able to pay me a lot of money and keep a good team around me".
Mahomes takes discounts like Brady to let team sign good players
Pat McAfee recently spoke about Mahomes' decision, harkening back to Tom Brady, who used to do the exact same thing while with the New England Patriots.
Tom Brady seemingly did this, and he would adjust his contract every single year. Before salary cap gymnastics were a thing, Bill Belichick was doing it up in New England with Tom Brady, where they would give him the total amount of what his yearly contract was as a g bonus.
Given the current state of the quarterback market, Mahomes could be making an insane amount of money. He's currently making $45 million per year, which ranks 11th among quarterbacks alongside Kirk Cousins. That's $10 million per year less than Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence and Jordan Love in the top spot.
Mahomes is definitely taking a discount in order to help his team, and the kind of money he's making from the Chiefs and off-field sponsorship deals is certainly more than enough. But if he really wanted to, Mahomes could ask for upwards of $60 million per year on a new contract. Doing so would handicap the Chiefs' flexibility to sign better players, though, which Mahomes isn't willing to risk right now. He just wants to win.