The Chiefs want a Super Bowl win this year, even more than they want the three-Lombardi streak. The taste of sour grapes is still fresh for Patrick Mahomes’ almost-hat-trick last season. So, when the situation called for it, he restructured his deal, along with DT Chris Jones, to free up some more cap space. The mission? For Andy Reid to add some more premium talent to the Chiefs’ arsenal. And that’s exactly what the Chiefs did. But now, it looks like they are going for broke… almost.

From six rounds in the draft, Andy Reid added 7 names to his team. His vision was simple. Add protectors for his QB1 while he brings them closer to the Super Bowl with each play. Now, after the drafts, there was another big list of names Reid needed to address. And without much hesitation, he splurged on them, too. Reid is leaving no stones unturned, but that’s left a whole lot of nothing in their wallet now.

Confused about the context? The NFL franchises have a budget of $206,144 to distribute as bonuses. And HC Andy Reid has given it all away to 13 players from the Chiefs’ UDFA list. The highest anyone got from that list is TE Jake Briningstool with $30K. Dalton Cooper and DT Coziah Izzard came up next with $ 25,000 each. Are you noticing a trend here? T Esa Pole, CB Kevin Knowles, and S Glendon Miller bring up the rear of the bigger end of bonuses with about $20k each. Clearly, even with the UDFAs, Reid is favoring pieces that can protect their QB. But that’s not all the puzzle pieces.

LB Brandon George, CB Melvin Smith Jr., and TE Tre Watson get $15K each for themselves. WR Mac Dalena gets $10K and P Eddie Czaplichi gets $5k. And that leaves RB Elijah Young and WR Justin Lockhart with their $ 3,000 bonus. All of that adds up to $260K for the Chiefs. Leaving just $144 from the entire budget. A mere triple digit now. It might be best to spend it on a donut party.

It’s a continuation of a front office philosophy that’s grown sharper with each postseason run. Kansas City led the NFL in UDFA spending last year, distributing over $1.12 million in total guarantees to that class. That investment produced several players who contributed on special teams and offered depth throughout the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The front office and coaching staff clearly believe there’s value to be mined where the rest of the league isn’t looking.

And Mahomes must be pretty happy with the way things are shaping up in the Chiefs’ roster. But is that all that the iconic quarterback has to be cheerful about? No. While the UDFA bonus is all spent up, there may be a little something that the Chiefs have in store for their QB. A new reason for Mahomes to flash that billion-dollar smile.

Patrick Mahomes’ incoming boost from the Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes is the greatest QB ever for the Chiefs. No question about it. He’s got a contract worthy of that, too. But if you talk about annual salaries, Mahomes’ $45 million a year doesn’t hold a candle to Dak Prescott, the Cowboys QB, who currently sits on the payday throne with a massive $50 million a year. Even then, Mahomes makes the most money out of any NFL player from his off-field earnings. Forbes recently estimated Mahomes’ net worth to be approximately $90 million, ranking him as the 18th highest-paid athlete in the world. Sweet right? But with the QB market changing drastically, there might be a deal in the works for Mahomes that could bump him up to a $100 million man.

With major extensions dropping everywhere (Josh Allen / Brock Purdy), Tyler Sullivan of CBS thinks a rework may be in order for Patrick Mahomes. Sullivan wrote, “Back in 2020, Mahomes and the Chiefs agreed to a 10-year, $447 million contract that could be worth up to $503 million. While that deal – has been tweaked in recent years to give the Chiefs some cap flexibility, the quarterback market has changed rather dramatically. That could mean that they take a harder look at this deal to bring Mahomes up to a respective level – “With Josh Allen recently reworking his deal to get him to $55 million per season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Mahomes and the Chiefs follow suit.”

With that $10 million boost, Patrick would tie for a 2nd place with Allen, Joe Burrow, Jordan Love, and Trevor Lawrence. With everything Patrick Mahomes has already done for the Chiefs, he’s clearly not going anywhere. And his “team-first” mentality might just melt Andy Reid to give him that respected bonus. Things are looking good for the Chiefs’ QB, but when do you think the deal might come through?