The Kansas City Chiefs have exercised the fifth-year contract option of star QB Patrick Mahomes, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Terez Paylor.
With the deadline for contract options coming up on May 4, the Chiefs took swift action here. This decision wasn’t exactly a tough one for the team and was somewhat expected after general manager Brett Veach left the option on the table during his pre-draft press conference.
“I can’t say that the fifth-year [contract option] won’t be an option or anything like that,” Veach said. “It’d be hard for me to say that we’d have to use that. We feel that it is a priority when you have a great player, and when a great player is a priority, things get done.”
Just because the fifth-year option has been exercised doesn’t mean that the Chiefs will not come to an agreement on a long-term contract extension with Mahomes. The expectation is still that Mahomes will still sign a new contract, the fifth-year option just provides more time to get an eventual deal done with Mahomes, the Chiefs just aren’t ready to put a timeline on when that contract might happen.
“I really can’t say it’s something that’s going to happen in the next three months, the next six months,” Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt said during the 2020 NFL Draft. “It’s a priority for us and it’s also a priority for Patrick’s team, so I know it’s something that’s going to get done in the near-term. Anytime that we’re talking about a big contract for the Kansas City Chiefs, I’m intimately involved in those conversations with Brett and his cap staff. I don’t want to say that we’ve been talking about this weekly because Brett’s been very focused on the draft. As you know, and I know you’ve spoken to Brett and Andy, a lot of preparation had to go into turning this into a virtual draft and that was a challenge for everybody. So, Patrick’s contract hasn’t been a priority here over the last month, but going forward it will be.”
You’ve heard it from the top decision-maker in the organization, with the NFL Draft in the rearview, a long-term deal with Mahomes will be the priority in Kansas City moving forward. In the unlikely scenario that Mahomes does play on the fifth-year option in 2021, he’ll be paid $24.8 million which all counts against the salary cap. The option is also guaranteed in case of injury.
