The NFL quarterback market has exploded this offseason with a number of new record-setting deals.
The most recent was Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, who received a five-year $230.5 million deal that includes $160 million in guaranteed money. Meanwhile, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ contract continues to look like one of the best deals in the league. By the end of the next offseason, Mahomes’ average salary could look closer to the bottom of the top-10 quarterback contracts than it will the top.
You won’t find Mahomes upset about the rising market in relation to his contract, though. In fact, he was elated to hear about Murray’s extension with the Cardinals and other big-money deals around the league this offseason.
“Yeah, I mean it’s awesome,” Mahomes told reporters at the onset of training camp. “Not just the quarterback market, but the market of players in general. You want the salary cap going up, you want players getting more and more money.”
Will Mahomes be seeking out a restructured deal in the future, potentially with more guaranteed money attached to the contract? Right now, Mahomes sounds to be very comfortable with his financial situation and the 10-year deal he signed ahead of the 2020 NFL season.
“When I signed my deal, I knew I was going to be pretty set for life regardless of what the market kind of happens,” Mahomes said. “But you just keep playing. Money is one thing, but when you get those Super Bowl rings, at the end of your career I think that’s going to be what you look back upon. I think I’ve made enough money from the football field and then obviously off of it as well, that it won’t matter at the end of the day.”
The star quarterback has a pretty keen sense of how the contract game is played in the NFL. He knew that his deal was going to be passed up eventually.
“Especially at the quarterback position, the next guy is kind of the top-paid guy,” Mahomes said. “Any of these top-tier quarterbacks, they make such a difference on NFL teams, it’s going to get passed up. Even if you look at the guys who signed last year to this year, they got passed up. And I’m sure when Burrow, Herbert and all these guys come around, they’ll keep setting the bar even higher.”
Mahomes knows that Kansas City can remain competitive for a long time with his contract and he’s not going to do anything to jeopardize that.
“You always want to get paid and take care of your family,” Mahomes concluded. “But I want to have a great team around me as well. Whatever way that is, I’m going to make sure I have a great team around me the rest of my career.”
[listicle id=132490]