Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs signed a contract in 2020 which shocked the NFL. While many expected Mahomes to sign a contract worth huge numbers in terms of salary and bonuses, not many expected a deal that would extend over a decade and with a value worth potentially over half a billion. Let’s examine the details of the contract for Mahomes and his net worth as of June 2022.
Patrick Mahomes’ contract details and bonuses
Mahomes deal is officially a 10-year contract extension with a base value of $450 million. However, when the deal was signed there were still two years remaining on his rookie deal. Therefore, the total value of the deal was a base of $477.6 million across 12 years. The sticker price of the deal is $45 million per year across 10 years but in reality, it is $39.8 million per year across 12 years
There are also bonuses included in the deal that take the potential total value across the 12 years over $500 million. From the 2022 to 2031 seasons, Mahomes can earn another $25 million in incentives. Each year, Mahomes can earn $2.5 million per year. Half of that ($1.25 million) can be earned if Mahomes is named MVP. The other half can be earned if the Chiefs win the AFC Championship Game.
Mahomes has 10 years remaining on his contract
When Mahomes signed his contract in 2020 he still had two years remaining on his rookie deal. Therefore, Mahomes is under contract through the 2031 season. That means Mahomes is only now entering the first year of his 10-year contract extension. If the Chiefs’ QB sees out his entire contract in Kansas City — and does not sign a new one — he would become an unrestricted free agent in 2032.
Mahomes is set to count for $35.793 million against the Chiefs’ salary cap in 2022
The way the Chiefs structured Mahomes’ contract is fascinating. Despite the deal being worth $450 million in total, there was only a $10 million signing bonus. That meant the prorated money over the first five of the 12 years is just $2 million per year. That allowed the Chiefs to have flexibility in the first two years.
However, what the Chiefs did was include huge roster bonuses in every year of the deal. Therefore, each season, the Chiefs have the option of whether to pay that bonus out as a traditional roster bonus or convert it to a signing bonus. If they pay it as a roster bonus, then all of it will count against the Chiefs cap in that season. Meanwhile, if they convert some or all of it to a signing bonus, then the salary cap impact prorates across five years.
Ahead of the 2021 season, the Chiefs chose the signing bonus option. They paid $21.717 million as a signing bonus that prorates at $4.343 million a year and saved $17.374 million last year. In contrast, the Chiefs chose to pay the roster bonus out in the traditional sense in 2022.
Therefore, Mahomes has a $35.793 million salary-cap number on his contract in 2022. There is $1.5 million in salary, the $27.4 million roster bonus, and a total of $6.343 million in prorated bonus money.
Mahomes’ contract has a set of rolling guarantees
In order to protect Mahomes in the future, he and his agent, Leigh Steinberg, put together a clever system of rolling guarantees in the contract extension.
Through 2024, money in the contract guarantees two years in advance. In 2025, the roster bonus becomes guaranteed in 2023, with the remainder becoming guaranteed in 2024. In the final seven years of the deal, at least a portion of the following year’s salary becomes guaranteed a year in advance.
Here are the details of when each part of his contract becomes guaranteed and how much (per Over the Cap; all third day of the league year).
- 2021: 2023 salary & roster bonus + workout bonus fully guaranteed
- 2022: 2024 salary & roster bonus + workout bonus fully guaranteed
- 2023: 2025 roster bonus + workout bonus fully guarantees
- 2024: 2025 salary + workout bonus fully guarantees
- 2025: 2026 roster bonus fully guarantees
- 2026: 2026 salary + workout bonus, 2027 roster bonus fully guarantees
- 2027: 2027 salary + workout bonus + 2028 salary + 2028 roster bonus fully guarantees
- 2028: 2029 salary + workout bonus & 2029 roster bonus fully guarantees
- 2029: 2030 salary & 2030 roster bonus fully guarantees
- 2030: 2031 roster bonus fully guarantees
- 2031: 2031 base salary fully guarantees
What is the cap number for the Chiefs in each year of Patrick Mahomes’ contract extension?
Mahomes’ cap number fluctuates between $5.35 million and $59.95 million during the life of the contract. All numbers are correct according to Over The Cap.
- 2022: $35.793 million
- 2023: $46.793 million
- 2024: $44.293 million
- 2025: $46.293 million
- 2026: $41.950 million
- 2027: $59.950 million
- 2028: $44.450 million
- 2029: $44.950 million
- 2030: $50.450 million
- 2031: $52.450 million
The numbers above do not include the $2.5 million in incentives if Mahomes either wins MVP or leads his team to the Super Bowl. If he meets those criteria, the money earned will be added to the following year’s cap number.
The Chiefs already restructured Mahomes’ contract in 2021
Less than a year after signing the deal, the Chiefs restructured Mahomes’ deal. They converted his $21.716 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. That created $17.374 million in cap space for 2021. Expect to see that happen a lot more over the life of the deal with the way the roster bonuses are set up in the contract.
Mahomes’ net worth
Calculating the net worth of a person is different from their salary. Mahomes may have a 10-year contract extension worth $450 million with potential earnings of $475 million, but his net worth is significantly less than that. According to celebritynetworth.com, Mahomes is currently worth $40 million.
However, it is not clear if that includes his most recent roster bonus. Mahomes is owed $27.4 million in a 2022 roster bonus. That would take his career earnings from $47.353 million to $74.753 million.