Chiefs renegotiating Patrick Mahomes’ contract frees up salary cap room, according to a report.

Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots, frequently performed below his market worth during the team’s prime in order to help the front office augment the rest of the roster.

Although the Kansas City Chiefs under Patrick Mahomes have a ways to go before their dynasty is on par with the Patriots’, they have undoubtedly learned how to read the playbook in order to maintain success.

Mahomes is renegotiating his contract to free up $21.6 million in salary space for Kansas City this offseason, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. In the last six months, his deal has undergone two restructurings.

During the 2020 offseason, Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million contract extension with the Chiefs. In September of last year, the organization and the three-time Super Bowl MVP renegotiated the contract, with Mahomes earning $208.1 million for the 2023–2026 season. The specifics of this most recent financial ploy were not immediately clear. According to Spotrac, his deal was supposed to account for $58.6 million against the limit in 2024 before the restructure.

Kansas City was 25th in the league in cap space going into the summer with $7,478,547.

Chris Jones, the defensive tackle, was re-signed by the Chiefs to a five-year contract with a $95 million guarantee, effectively starting this free-agent cycle. As they attempt to negotiate a long-term contract with cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, they placed the franchise tag on him.

In the years since, a number of Mahomes’ colleagues have completed transactions that have garnered higher average annual value than Mahomes’ initial $45 million. The NFL salaries database maintained by USA TODAY Sports shows that Mahomes was sixth among QBs in terms of pay when the 2023 season began.