Sports
Kansas City Chiefs Make Another Change to Patrick Mahomes’ Salary to Lower His Cap by Millions
The Kansas City Chiefs are adjusting star quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 2026 salary.
Over the Cap reported on Wednesday, February 18, that the pro football team converted $54.45 million of the 30-year-old’s 2026 salary into a signing bonus to create cap room for the Chiefs. His salary cap number has been lowered from $78.2 million to $34.65 million for 2026.
In 2020, the three-time Super Bowl champion signed a 10-year contract extension worth over $450 million, making it one of the largest in sports history.
Because of that, Over the Cap reported, the Chiefs have had to make room in their cap over the years — and this marks the fourth year in a row that they have restructured Mahomes’ contract.
Mahomes’ salary cap number in the upcoming four seasons will now rise by $10.89 million per year.
Mahomes is under contract with the Chiefs through 2031, but it is likely that the Chiefs will extend him or modify his contract by 2028.
For those looking for clarity on what exactly a salary cap is, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (who is expected to announce a decision regarding his possible retirement) explained the term alongside brother Jason Kelce on an episode of their New Heights podcast.
“Salary cap, in the NFL, is each team has an amount that they’re allowed to pay players within a given year,” the former Philadelphia Eagles player, 38, began.
Jason further explained that the salary cap is “the allotment of all the salaries for the players for the year,” and it “cannot exceed that threshold.”
“What happens if they do?” asked Travis, to which Jason replied, “Man, I don’t even know!”
“There’s a penalty, and I don’t know what that penalty is, to be honest with you,” Jason said.
The salary cap in the league is designed to ensure financial stability and competitive parity amongst the teams. Penalties for violating the cap can include fines of up to $5 million for each violation, cancellation of contracts and loss of draft picks.
“I think we thoroughly made you more confused about it than when we started,” Jason admitted to New Heights listeners.
