The Kansas City Chiefs are making a change to free up tens of millions of dollars and move closer to the salary cap. The team has restructured the contract for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
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According to Over the Cap, the Chiefs converted $54.45 million of Mahomes' base salary into a signing bonus. This drops his salary cap number from a whopping $78.2 million to only $34.65 million. It also created $43.56 million in cap room and moved the team to only $11 million over the projected salary cap.
This restructuring is nothing new for the Chiefs and Mahomes, who agreed to a 10-year, $450 million deal in July 2020. They have restructured his contract in four consecutive seasons to help with the salary cap.
In 2021, the Chiefs converted a $21 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. This cleared $17.3 million in cap space. In March 2023, the team converted $12 million of a $34.4 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. This cleared $9.6 million in cap space.
In 2024, the Chiefs converted $27 million of his salary into a signing bonus. This restructuring of the contract cleared up $21.6 million of salary cap space. Last year, the team converted $47.75 million in compensation into a signing bonus. This cleared up $38.196 million in salary cap space.
The Chiefs will likely try to completely rework Mahomes' contract in the near future. His cap hit moves to more than $85 million next year as his salary moves to $45.8 million. However, his base salary drops to $17.975 million in 2028.
First off, however, the team will have to do more work on the roster in order to be in compliance by the start of the new league year on March 11. The team will likely have to restructure deals for other high-paid players in the coming weeks to clear up more space.
Defender Chris Jones is one possibility as he will count $44.85 million against the cap. He will have a base salary of $19 million. Tackle Jawaan Taylor will have a base salary of $19.5 million in 2026, and he will count $27.39 million against the cap.
