The Kansas City Chiefs are going through a tough phase. First, they recorded their first losing season in a decade, and then lost Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending ACL injury. Even the rumors around Travis Kelce have reached new heights. With mounting pressure on the franchise, they are further burdened by their cap space news.

“Spotrac currently has the Chiefs at roughly $58 million over the cap,” wrote Pete Sweeney for The Kansas City Star. “KC according to this estimate ranks No. 32 in the league — last — on the list of available cap space. This primarily stems from the upcoming (2026) cap numbers for Mahomes ($78 million) and defensive star Chris Jones ($45 million).”

Thanks to the television rights, sponsorships, and tickets, the 2026 NFL salary cap will see a projected range from $279.2 million to $301.2 million–$305.7 million per team. Even after such a hike, the Chiefs’ cap hit will be over it by $57.58 million, which is almost $15 million more than the 31st-ranked New Orleans Saints.

Exceeding the cap space with such a massive figure can be directly attributed to the signing of multiple players, such as Mike Danna and Drue Tranquill, in 2024. The franchise even committed to Chris Jones, in the hopes of becoming the first team to do a three-peat. Not only did they miss out on the three-peat, but they have also gotten themselves into a cap space dilemma. To make things worse, they also have to deal with multiple unrestricted free agents.

The Kansas City Chiefs have 23 unrestricted free agents lined up

Post Super Bowl LX, the Kansas City Chiefs will have to deal with 23 unrestricted free agents. The list includes prominent stars like TE Travis Kelce, RB Kareem Hunt, RB Isiah Pacheco, QB Gardner Minshew, and several others.

First, they need to cut the $58 million to return within the legal bounds. After that, the franchise may try to restructure some of the contracts. Mahomes‘ cap hit for 2026 is $78 million. So, the Chiefs can definitely try to convert the base salary into a signing bonus, giving themselves the much-needed cushion. The star QB’s current contract runs till 2031, so there is a scope for restructuring. Moreover, he signed a contract extension in 2020, which included special “guarantee mechanisms,” where $477 million out of his $503 million contract is guaranteed money, allowing the Chiefs a little flexibility around it.

But the same thing cannot be said for Chris Jones. He is already 31 years old and has three years left in his contract. It is highly unlikely that Clark Hunt will try to re-sign him, despite him being an elite player. That being said, the Chiefs can restructure his present contract without an extension. Releasing Jawaan Taylor ($20 million) and Mike Danna ($9 million) could also open up quite a bit of cap space.

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With the 23 impending free agents, there are a few restricted free agents and exclusive rights free agents as well. Moreover, as the draft is approaching, they will have a top ten draft pick for the first time in over a decade, and they can target a potential star in the draft. With that said, it will be interesting to see how the Kansas City Chiefs overcome so many burdens.