Patrick Mahomes
Texas Tech alum and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes attends a press conference at Jones AT&T Stadium, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. Image Credit: © Nathan Giese / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Five years ago, Patrick Mahomes achieved an unparalleled feat in the NFL. He signed a magnificent ten-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the first time in NFL history that a contract of such length had been signed. Interestingly, the $450 million deal came many years before Shohei Ohtani’s contract shocked American sports.

The Mahomes contract included $63.08 million fully guaranteed, along with a $10 million signing bonus. $141 million is guaranteed for injury, and a total of $477.63 million can become guaranteed based on roster status.

However, the contract was structured in a way that didn’t heavily impact the Chiefs’ cap space, making it a win-win scenario for the QB and Arrowhead.

In addition, the Chiefs used the contract flexibility to add weapons around Mahomes. And the result? Kansas City has gone to five Super Bowls and won three since he became QB1. As per latest reports, Mahomes’ deal has taken a new shape in 2025, at a time when Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow are averaging $60 million and $55 million per year, respectively.

Now, Mahomes technically has seven years and $315.7 million remaining on his contract. But for practical purposes, it now functions like a three-year, $160 million deal, as per Spotrac data. That difference in amount is because the Chiefs moved significant money from the 2028 and 2029 seasons forward to make sure that Mahomes is properly compensated through 2027.

In other words, he will get a massive boost in 2027, approximately near $200M, similar to what he received in 2023. However, if we look at the contract from from the $160M angle, Mahomes will average just around $53.3 million over the next three seasons.

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That amount is slightly behind the league’s top-paid quarterbacks like Burrow and Prescott. For most players, that could be a problem. But Mahomes is built differently.

Last year, he restructured his deal to create $21.6 million in cap space for the Chiefs during the offseason. Moves like that keep the contract team-friendly, even though analysts like Mike Florio believe Mahomes is making “a lot of sacrifices.”But in the end, those sacrifices have helped him win more championships and inch closer to Tom Brady’s  seven-ring record.

With three Super Bowl wins before turning 30, Mahomes has already built a Hall of Fame résumé. Evidently, Mahomes’ focus isn’t just on cash. His legacy is built on rings.