During the heyday of the New England Patriots ' dynasty, quarterback Tom Brady routinely played under his market value so the front office could bolster the rest of the roster.
Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs still have a long way to go before their dynasty is comparable to the Pats', but they have clearly taken that page of the playbook to sustain success.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter , Mahomes is restructuring his contract to create $21.6 million in cap space for Kansas City this offseason. This is the second restructuring of his deal in the past six months.
Mahomes inked a 10-year, $450 million extension with the Chiefs during the 2020 offseason . The three-time Super Bowl MVP and the team reworked the deal last September so that Mahomes would make $208.1 million from 2023-26. The details of this latest financial maneuver were immediately unknown. His deal was set to account for $58.6 million against the cap in 2024 prior to the restructure, per Spotrac.
Kansas City entered the offseason with $7,478,547 in cap space, which was 25th in the league.
The Chiefs unofficially started this free-agent cycle by re-singing defensive tackle Chris Jones to a five-year deal with $95 million guaranteed. They placed the franchise tag on cornerback L'Jarius Sneed as they try to work out a long-term deal with him.
Several of Mahomes' peers have done deals in the intervening years that have secured more average annual value than Mahomes' initial $45 million. According to USA TODAY Sports' NFL salaries database, Mahomes entered the 2023 season ranked eighth on the list of top-paid QBs .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kansas City Chiefs restructuring QB Patrick Mahomes' contract
