Patrick Mahomes Contract Is Now Officially A Bargain As It Drops Outside Top 5

Patrick Mahomes

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Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has fallen to the seventh spot in the NFL’s average salary ranking.

Hailed as the best quarterback in the league, Mahomes now finds himself behind several notable counterparts in terms of annual earnings.

The latest figures reveal that Mahomes, who’s average salary per year is $45 million, places him behind Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets, Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos, Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns.

QB Salary - Spotrac

This is a drastic shift in the salary hierarchy, as Mahomes was previously celebrated for securing a groundbreaking contract in 2020. At that time, he signed a record-breaking 10-year, $450 million deal, making it the largest contract in NFL history. Many anticipated that this contract would solidify his position as the highest-paid player in the league for the foreseeable future.

However, recent contract extensions for Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and others have reshaped the landscape of quarterback salaries, casting a new light on Mahomes’ deal. In late April, Jackson signed a lucrative five-year, $260 million extension, which translates to an average annual salary of $52 million. Similarly, Hurts inked a five-year, $255 million extension in mid-April, securing an average salary of $51 million per year.

As the quarterback salary structure continues to evolve, with lucrative extensions being awarded to talented signal-callers, it is worth noting that other rising stars, such as Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers, are also expected to command substantial pay raises in their future contract negotiations, as projected by Spotrac, a prominent sports contract website.

Mahomes is expected to get pushed down to 9th in average salary per season once those contracts get signed.

While Mahomes’ current standing may come as a surprise to fans and experts alike, it raises intriguing questions about the future dynamics of quarterback compensation in the NFL. Nonetheless, the $45 million average salary attached to Mahomes’ name serves as a reminder of the exceptional value his long-term contract initially represented, particularly in light of the eye-watering figures being commanded by his fellow quarterbacks in the league.

As the salary landscape continues to shift, only time will tell how future contract negotiations will further reshape the league’s quarterback hierarchy and redefine the notion of value on the field.