Kansas City Chiefs Sign Guard Joe Thuney

The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a five-year deal worth $80 million with former New England Patriots guard Joe Thuney, according to multiple reports.

The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a five-year deal worth $80 million with former New England Patriots guard Joe Thuney, according to multiple reports.

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Thuney's five-year, $80 million deal "includes $32.5M fully guaranteed at signing over the first two years, plus an injury guarantee that converts to full in 2022," essentially guaranteeing $48 million at signing.

Thuney's deal will come with a $4.5 million cap hit in 2021, with the details first reported by Field Yates of ESPN.

More details on Joe Thuney's 5-year, $80M deal with the Chiefs:
Signing bonus: $17M
Base salaries: $990K, $13.9M, $15M, $15.5M, $15.5M
Workout bonuses totaling $2.11M

That structure keeps Thuney's 2021 cap number at just $4.5M.

KC still has room to work with in free agency.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 15, 2021

One of the first people to publicly react to the news was Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who seemed more than happy to have the two-time Super Bowl champion protecting him for years to come.

😁😁😁 https://t.co/wWf0RuxRZC

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) March 15, 2021

According to Albert Breer of The MMQB, Thuney's deal becomes the largest long-term contract for a guard in NFL history.

More details on new Chiefs G Joe Thuney's five-year, $80 million deal.

• $32.5 million in the first 2 years, fully guaranteed.
• 3rd year becomes fully guaranteed next March. So ...
• Practical guarantee: $48 million over the first 3 years.

(Pats stayed in it to the end.)

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 15, 2021

In his Seven Days of Free Agency series, Conner Christopherson of Arrowhead Report wrote about Thuney's potential market and performance over the last half-decade.

After being tagged in 2019, Joe Thuney is likely to hit free agency this year. Thuney is one of the best guards in the league and brings above-average pass- and run-blocking chops to the guard position.

Over the course of his five years in New England, Thuney started all 16 games every season, a testament to his durability at the NFL level.

If you're an NFL team looking for an offensive lineman in free agency, here's what Joe Thuney offers: he's 28, been an All-Pro guard who has also started games at center and played offensive tackle too.

He's been called for 3 total penalties over the past two seasons. Standout.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) March 9, 2021

Over the course of his last 2,033 pass-blocking snaps in New England, Thuney allowed three sacks and was a second-team All-Pro guard in 2019. Now he'll be coming to Kansas City to help the Chiefs rebuild an offensive line that will continue to be overhauled this offseason.

Read More: Patrick Mahomes' Contract Structure is a Blessing for the Chiefs, Curse for the Rest of the NFL