The 10-year $503 million dollar extension signed by Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has an impact beyond the scope of one team. Look around the league and Mahomes’ contract has caused a shockwave of chatter, especially when it comes to other star quarterbacks across the NFL.
Many are lauding the decision of Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, who signed his franchise tag this year and is due for a big payday soon. He bought time for Mahomes to sign his monster deal and now the expectations is that he’ll reap the rewards — or will he? K.D. Drummond at Cowboys Wire seems to think that Prescott will look to take a much shorter contract, totaling four years and $144 million.
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans are questioning whether they’ll be able to agree to a deal with Deshaun Watson, who emerged from 2017 draft class alongside Mahomes. There’s a bit of bad blood in Houston after Bill O’Brien traded away Watson’s main weapon in DeAndre Hopkins. According to Mark Lane at Texans Wire, the most recent word out of Houston came from O’Brien on April 17 when he said contract extensions, “take time.” Profound stuff there, coach. Now, you’re late to the party and things could be even trickier negotiating with Watson.
The Chicago Bears are pulling their hair out over the choice to draft Mitchell Trubisky instead of Mahomes. They added Nick Foles this past offseason to compete with Trubisky and hopefully push him in the right direction. Alyssa Barbieri of Bears Wire is wondering what it would have been like had the Bears drafted Mahomes. Instead of being disappointed over something out of her control, she’s staying optimistic, hoping that Chicago will somehow be better off for passing over Mahomes.
The Buffalo Bills traded away pick No. 10, which was used by the Chiefs to draft Mahomes in 2017 — they’re not crying many tears. They grabbed one of the top corners in the NFL in Tre’Davious White and a year later added starting QB Josh Allen. According to Bills Wire’s Nick Wjolton, by comparison, Buffalo came out better than any other team that passed over Mahomes. That’s fair, but they still missed out on a generational talent. Now, they might have to fork out top dollar to Allen instead.
The one team that could potentially have the next half-billion-dollar quarterback is the Baltimore Ravens. In terms of accolades, Lamar Jackson has the league MVP to hang his hat on, but he doesn’t have the Super Bowl title. Matthew Stevens of Ravens Wire believes that Mahomes’ deal could provide a framework for a deal between Baltimore and Jackson. No matter what it’s going to put some heat on the Ravens when it comes time to pay their star quarterback.
The Arizona Cardinals are led by Mahomes’ former college coach Kliff Kingsbury. They’re also quarterbacked by 2019’s No. 1 overall draft pick and Offensive Rookie of the Year, Kyler Murray. Murray is only one year into his rookie contract, but Cards Wire’s Jess Root also believes Mahomes’ contract could serve as a blueprint for Murray down the line.
The Miami Dolphins only just got Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa in the 2020 NFL Draft, who they hope will eventually turn into a franchise player. Longtime Miami aficionado, Dolphins Wire’s Kyle Crabbs, is praying that one day the team will be able to hand out a contract like the one Mahomes just signed. In fact, he says the team would be lucky to do so. Why? Because that will mean the days of suffering as a Dolphins fan will be over. That’s something that Chiefs fans can absolutely relate to.
Other teams with established quarterbacks who’ve already signed deals, like the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams, they can only watch their quarterbacks slide down the list of top-paid quarterbacks. What’s been made clear is that no matter if you have a quarterback ripe for an extension or one that’s already locked up with a contract, Mahomes’ deal has moved the needle somehow for those players. For many of them, the deal has the potential to influence their own financial future and the financial futures of their teams.
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