It's obvious why the Chiefs need to restructure Patrick Mahomes' contract in 2022
The Kansas City Chiefs decided to tag left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. on Monday, which means the Chiefs' salary cap budget just took a nearly-$17 million hit. A tagged Brown costs the Chiefs $16.662 million in 2022 if he and the Chiefs fail to work out a long-term deal. But what matters right now is […]
The Kansas City Chiefs decided to tag left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. on Monday, which means the Chiefs' salary cap budget just took a nearly-$17 million hit.
A tagged Brown costs the Chiefs $16.662 million in 2022 if he and the Chiefs fail to work out a long-term deal. But what matters right now is Brown counts that much, now. And, he said he won't sign the tag until he decides on whether or not he wants to hire an agent. So, it doesn't sound like a long-term deal is getting worked out soon.
Therefore, the Chiefs are currently $8,944,032 million over the cap in regard to effective cap space. Assuming Brown stays under the tag, of course.
That's obviously not a good spot to be in. Especially when you have players like Tyrann Mathieu, Charvarius Ward, Melvin Ingram, and others to re-sign.
But never fear: there is one obvious move the Chiefs should (and have to) make in order to create the cap space they need.
The Chiefs need to restructure Patrick Mahomes' contract for 2022
I'm no agent, but you can tell Mahomes' $450 million contract was set up for this to happen. The majority of the money is tied up in roster bonuses and base salaries, which can be converted to a signing bonus and prorated over the life of the contract. It's a win-win for both sides when this happens.
Entering 2022, Mahomes is set to cost $35,793,381 against the cap. He has a $27.4 million roster bonus that was guaranteed when he signed the deal back in 2020. The roster bonus is still liquid, though, and can be converted. Mahomes' base salary is just $1.5 million, so there's not much savings to be had, there.
The Chiefs can take the $27.4 million roster bonus, convert it to a signing bonus, and then spread the money over the remaining 10 years(!!) of his deal. Doing so will remove $24.66 million off the books and drop Mahomes' cap hit to a little more than $11.1 million. So, approximately $24.6 million in cap room can be created off the restructure. And Mahomes still gets paid.
The best part is the Chiefs will only add $2.74 million to each remaining year's cap hit. So, it's a modest difference. Plus, there are nine years remaining after 2022. That gives Kansas City plenty of time to figure things out down the road.
This is exactly why Mahomes' contract was set up this way. Granted the Chiefs shouldn't do this every year, but it's understandable if they do it this year because their Super Bowl window is still open.
It won't be a surprise if this move -or something similar- is done in the coming days as the start of free agency approaches.
Featured image via Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
