Since the Andy Reid era began in Kansas City, we have seen a willingness from Coach Reid and either Brett Veach or John Dorsey to make difficult decisions for the future of the franchise. Recently, the team restructured the contracts of Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, to avoid having to trade or cut him. This move gave Veach the cap flexibility to sign their draft picks, but there were still some tough decisions to be made prior to the 2020 season.
– via CTV News
With the Patrick Mahomes, and Chris Jones deals looming, the Chiefs on April 28th, 2020, made the difficult decision to release long time Chief, and fan favorite, punter Dustin Colquitt. This move freed up two million in cap space for the Chiefs.
– via Terez A. Paylor Senior NFL reporter for Yahoo Sports
Getting rid of Colquitt was hard, but tough decisions like this have to be made. Especially when you have two cornerstone players like Mahomes and Jones waiting on long-term paydays. So let’s take a deeper look at the latest from Brett Veach on what the organization’s plan is for both Chris Jones and Patrick Mahomes moving forward.
Almost immediately following the draft, the organization has transitioned their attention to these contract negotiations. The Chiefs’ front office seems poised to get a deal done with both players, but it appears they have had a bit of a tougher time with Jones’ representation. The two sides appear to be struggling to reach a mutual agreement on annual numbers for Jones. The team still has time though to get a deal done since he is currently on a franchise tag. This places him in the Chiefs control for the 2020 season, if he will agree to sign the 1-year, $16 million dollar deal. If he doesn’t sign the tag, both sides will have to be punctual because there is a deadline to extend a franchise tagged player on July 15th, 2020. The Chiefs are heading towards getting a deal done to insure Jones is a fixture of the defense for years to come. Many reports have said that Jones and his representation want $20 million dollars per season. That is a huge annual number that would be tough to fit in long term with the potentially record setting contract of QB Patrick Mahomes, but it isn’t impossible. In a recent statement, we learned that Veach is working on a deal to get Jones paid. This will allow the team to keep Jones in the fold long term, as long as the deal is finalized prior to that previously mentioned July 15th, 2020 extension deadline.
– via James Palmer NFL Network
In recent days, Brett Veach has basically stated that Mahomes understands that his contract size will decide what kind of talent the team can afford to keep around in the future. This is encouraging for the organization. Mahomes’ biggest priority is to put himself in the best position to win in KC long-term. By taking less than say $40 million dollars per year, the team will have the cap flexibility to keep guys like Hill, Kelce, and Hardman around long term. According to James Palmer of NFL Network, Brett Veach told him that “Mahomes’s representation knows that their client is a priority, and that he is going to be a Chiefs for a long long time.” The team, on April 29th, 2020, backed up that idea, and as expected, picked up Patrick Mahomes’ 5th year option. This will bring his rookie deal to a 5-year, $41 million dollar deal in total.
– via Spotrac
Thanks to his performance early in his career, the expectation is that a 5 year, $200 million dollar contract worth $40 million per season could be where the numbers begin for his second contract in KC. So we could see Mahomes ironically make annually what he is set to make in a five year span on his rookie deal. With the dialog and mutual understanding between Mahomes’ representation and the Chiefs, it seems the deal will ultimately be smaller than $40 million dollars per year. But, honestly, a majority of Chiefs Kingdom would be fine paying him whatever he wants. If it means KC can secure him under center for the next five years and, hopefully, many years to follow.
– via James Palmer NFL Network
As you now know, the Chiefs seem focused on retaining both Mahomes and Jones. The organization has made these negotiations a focal point moving forward with Jones’ franchise tag and the acceptance of Mahomes 5th year option. There isn’t a solid answer from Veach on how the money will work, but we can bet that they get the job done. History has shown that Brett Veach, and coach Reid have never been guys to set a goal and not achieve it. So don’t expect that to change now with these contract extensions. The organization will carry out tough decisions to make this roster better, and that means doing whatever it takes to keep both of these young superstars in KC. Be on the lookout for a Chris Jones deal prior to the July 15th, 2020 deadline, and a record breaking deal for Patrick Mahomes prior to training camp in 2020. The Mahomes contract will more than likely make him the highest paid player in NFL history. That’s fine for most of Chiefs Kingdom I would guess, as long as they have Mahomes and Jones in the fold for the next half decade. This is the latest news out of Kansas City on the Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones contract extensions.
