The elephant in the room for the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes: Why his contract could lead to serious punishment from NFL
The Kansas City Chiefs could face severe penalties from the NFL if they don’t address some issues surrounding quarterback Patrick Mahomes' contract.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in a financial pickle at the moment. After they used the franchise tag on Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith, they were pushed over the salary cap limit by $17 million. This presents a problem for the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose 10-year, $450 million has already had its fair share of restructures.
Nearly eight years since the @Chiefs traded up and got their QB1, @PatrickMahomes.
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The Chiefs could face serious penalties from the NFL, including fines up to seven figures, loss of draft picks, and even risk of the league voiding various players’ contracts, if they don’t resolve the issues around Mahomes' contract as soon as possible.
Why Mahomes' contract could result in NFL fines for the Chiefs
The NFL recently revealed that they’ve raised the salary cap to $279.2 million in 2025. Because the Trey Smith franchise tag required the Chiefs to put his contract at around $23.4 million, that’s what put them over the cap by such a large amount, leaving them just over a week to make adjustments to avoid significant repercussions from the league.
The Chiefs are $17.6 million OVER the cap. They must be under that in 9 days. Expect the Chiefs to start making moves very soon.
— Farzin Vousoughian (@Farzin21) March 3, 2025
Mahomes' contract signed in 2020 for $450 million is the largest total value for a contract in NFL history, but it’s already been restructured twice to free up cap space. In 2023, Mahomes was guaranteed to receive $210.6 million through 2026, and in 2024, it was restructured again to allow for $21.6 million in cap space. This year, however, Mahomes' personal cap is expected to increase by nearly $30 million (according to Over the Cap). This is a huge chunk of the Chiefs' salary cap and any rise in his cap hit can make it difficult for the Chiefs to stay under the limit.
The Chiefs could restructure Mahomes' contract again to stay at or get under the $279.2 limit, but doing so now may limit their flexibility to make moves in the future. Instead, they may choose to restructure the contracts of other players. Still, Mahomes' deal remains a sort of tipping point that, if not managed correctly, could affect their ability to afford necessary moves for free agents or re-signings in the future.
For now, Mahomes' contract looks safe, but the Chiefs will have to be careful how they manage it in the future in order to keep their franchise quarterback happy and protected financially while still having the ability to develop and maintain a competitive roster around him.
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