Patrick Mahomes Signs Record-Setting Contract, And He Deserves It
Patrick Mahomes is reaping the benefits of being a young superstar quarterback who just led a team to its first title in half a century, but does his new deal guarantee prolonged success for the Chiefs?
Patrick Mahomes has secured a retirement plan for his great grandchildren. The star quarterback of the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs recently signed a 10-year extension worth $477 million, plus a potential $26 million in bonuses for a whopping $503 million. The contract ensures Mahomes will remain in Kansas City through the 2031 season.
This is the most lucrative contract in American sports history, a title previously held by Mike Trout’s 12-year $426.5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Mahomes is the first professional athlete to sign a contract worth half a billion dollars, and this doesn’t even include endorsements.
It’s fair to be angry at the fact that a football player is earning half a billion dollars, especially during a global pandemic and unprecedented unemployment. Although it should be noted that artists, such as actors and musicians, who are being paid similar amounts of money are seemingly immune to the same criticism. But there is no denying that half a billion dollars is a lot of money, and, at least from a pure sport standpoint, Patrick Mahomes is one of the few professional athletes playing today who deserves that type of money.
He has only played two full seasons in the NFL, and yet he already has a Super Bowl ring, a Super Bowl MVP, a regular season MVP and threw for 50 touchdowns in a single season. He is a classic gunslinging quarterback who is considered by many to be the best in the league, and at the ripe old age of 24 it’s likely his best seasons are ahead of him. Chiefs fans aren’t upset at the amount of money he’ll be making and for good reason. Mahomes brought a championship to a franchise that hadn’t won a title in 50 years, and he looks poised to bring a few more Lombardi trophies back to Kansas City.
But just because Mahomes is locked up for the next decade does not guarantee a dynasty for Kansas City. There are plenty of elite quarterbacks, past and present, who have only one Super Bowl to their name; Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees just to name a few. There’s also the fact that the Chiefs are going to be working with a tightened budget when trying to sign other players. Kansas City is not a huge market and having around $50 million dedicated to Mahomes each year for the next decade means the Chiefs probably won’t be handing out too many more huge contracts for a while. Locking up a generational talent like Mahomes was the right move, but the challenge now becomes maintaining and building upon the core around him while staying under the salary cap.
Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Report: Michael Rosen
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