Analysts Break Down Patrick Mahomes' 10-Year, $503 Million Contract

NFL analysts broke down Patrick Mahomes' record-setting contract after the 10-year, $503 million deal was announced Monday.

Football, basketball and baseball. 

Patrick Mahomes could’ve chosen any of the three major sports coming out of Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas. 

In the 2014 MLB Draft, the Detroit Tigers selected Mahomes in the 37th round.  He chose to attend Texas Tech to play football while improving on the baseball diamond. 

Mahomes decided to simplify to just football, the sport that had the least economic potential, his freshman year. Seven years later, the decision has turned into a 10-year, $503 million contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Peter Schrager of NFL Network and Fox Sports broke down Mahomes' path to being the first half-billion-dollar athlete in professional sports. 

“He bet on himself, and the sport he loved most,” Schrager said. “And turned the discussion of ‘economic potential,’ into a farce.”

Back in high school, Mahomes was a star baseball, basketball, and football player. He chose football for college, the sport with the least “economic potential”.

He bet on himself and the sport he loved most.

And turned the discussion of “economic potential” into a farce.

— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) July 6, 2020

ESPN NFL Insider Field Yates pointed out the earnings will also break recently retired Eli Manning’s earnings record. Manning made $252.3 million over his 16-year career. 

Eli Manning retired in January with $252.3M in career earnings, the most by any player in NFL history.

Patrick Mahomes will now make at least $175M more than that over the next 12 years.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) July 6, 2020

Mahomes could beat Manning by 2028 based on guaranteed amounts announced by ESPN NFL Front Office Insider Mike Tannenbaum. 

After reading Mahomes’s contract; here are a few key points;

He earns $39,550mm/yr for 5 new years (The first 7 years of the contract, he had 2 years remaining on his rookie deal).

His guarantee is $63mm at signing and his total guarantee increases to $141mm by March of ‘22

— Mike Tannenbaum (@RealTannenbaum) July 7, 2020

Mahomes' contract opens doors to future long-term deals in the NFL. 

According to ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Mahomes' contract, slated to last until 2031, is five seasons more than any other player in the NFL. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is second behind, under contract until 2026. 

Looking at the extension length alone, Patrick Mahomes is now signed to a contract that is five seasons longer than any other player in the NFL. pic.twitter.com/LXKoLtEoGE

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 6, 2020

Schefter also pointed out that Mahomes is the fifth quarterback to have a 10-year extension since 2001. None of the quarterbacks finished their deals. 

Others notable NFL extensions in length, prior to Patrick Mahomes' 10-year extension today:

*Donovan McNabb, 12 years with Eagles, 2002
*Brett Favre, "lifetime" contract with Packers, 2001
*Drew Bledsoe, 10 years with Patriots, 2001
*Michael Vick, 10 years with the Falcons, 2004

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 6, 2020

Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr broke down Mahomes’ long-term contract, calling it "gigantic and hilarious". Orr does not believe Mahomes will play out the entire contract. His reasoning? History. 

“Who cares if it’s stupid?! Gigantic, absurdly-long contracts are hilarious and irresponsible and perfectly American. And in this godforsaken time, we need all of the plain old silliness we can get. As a reminder, the last quarterback to sign a deal of this magnitude was … Daunte Culpepper. That was back in May 2003. He was in Oakland by 2007. He retired a Sacramento Mountain Lion by 2013. History serves as a reminder for us not to take anything that seriously.”

We love ridiculous, 10-year contract extensions because of their ultimate hollowness and faux-epicness. It’s akin to tattooing the name of your high school sweetheart on your forearm or eloping with that (generationally talented) lounge singer you met on the cruise ship because if you waited a minute longer the world wouldn’t know how much you really cared.”

The extension is popular amongst athletes and the Chiefs' front office based on his 2018-19 MVP and Super Bowl LIV MVP performances

We could hear from Mahomes later this week as he competes at the American Century Championship at Lake Tahoe. 

Stay connected with Arrowhead Report and @SIChiefs for further updates and analysis related to the extension.