Kansas City Chiefs sign DE R Mason Thomas to his rookie contract, leaving only two 2026 NFL Draft picks left unsigned
The Kansas City Chiefs continue to get business done ahead of their first Organized Team Activities session, signing DE R Mason Thomas on his rookie deal. Only two 2026 NFL Draft picks for K.C. remain unsigned.
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed another 2026 NFL Draft pick ahead of OTAs next week.
Yesterday, the team signed DB Jadon Canady. Today, they’ve signed DE R Mason Thomas to a standard four-year rookie contract. He’s the second defensive player and fifth of seven draft picks to sign his rookie deal with Kansas City.
Contract details for Kansas City Chiefs rookie DE R Mason Thomas
These are the projected contract details for Thomas’ draft slot from Over the Cap.
Total Value: $12,325,650
Signing Bonus: $5,424,108
Annual Prorated Bonus: $1,356,027
| Year | Base Salary | Cap Number |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $885,000 | $2,241,027 |
| 2027 | $1,445,257 | $2,801,284 |
| 2028 | $2,005,514 | $3,361,541 |
| 2029 | $2,565,771 | $3,921,798 |
The total value of Thomas’ contract ($12.3 million) is more than the combined value ($10.4 million) of Jadon Canady’s ($5.6 million) and Emmett Johnson’s ($4.8 million) rookie contracts.
Only the Chiefs’ most expensive 2026 NFL Draft picks remain unsigned
The move to sign R Mason Thomas will leave the K.C. Chiefs with somewhere between $4.655 million and $5.655 million in cap space. The remaining two contracts won’t be quite as easy for Brett Veach to maneuver compared to the others. That’s because of the salary cap space constraints the team is currently working within.
Chiefs 2026 NFL Draft Picks Not Yet Under Contract
The Chiefs’ first-round draft picks in the 2026 NFL Draft both remain unsigned.
- Round 1, Pick 6: LSU CB Mansoor Delane
- Round 1, Pick 29: Clemson DT Peter Woods
The Chiefs have multiple ways to create that salary cap space. They’ll need to restructure a contract or release a player (or both) to get each of Delane and Woods under contract. They do currently have enough cap space to sign Woods only. I’d expect a salary cap clearing move in the coming days, with the first group of OTAs beginning on Tuesday, May 26.
That said, there isn’t exactly a rush to get this done. The Chiefs have previously left draft picks unsigned until July’s training camp for various reasons. They are protected during practices under signed waiver agreements between the rookie and the team. Should injury occur, they’d still get paid.