Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won his third Super Bowl earlier this year, showing why he is one of the best quarterbacks of this generation. However, the superstar QB is still not among the highest-paid players in the NFL. This fact has irked sports media personality Stephen A. Smith.
The Chiefs picked Mahomes in the first round of the 2017 NFL draft. After gaining the starter position in his second season, the Chiefs have enjoyed success under him. In 2020, the QB signed a massive 10-year, $450 million deal with the Chiefs. However, that doesn’t even rank him in the top nine most-paid QBs in the NFL.
On his podcast, Smith took issue with the salary of Mahomes, especially under the light that several QBs have jumped past him in yearly salary.
“Kansas City Chiefs, get on the phone now. Call Patrick Mahomes’ agent and basically say to him, ‘We’re just waiting until the dust settles, then we’ll make sure to make you the highest-paid player in the National Football League,’” Smith said.
“Let’s get that out of the way right now. Ain’t nobody, nobody, deserves to be paid more than Patrick Mahomes.” [01:10 – 01:27]
Earlier, this year Mahomes restructured his deal with the Chiefs to allow more cap space for the defending champions to pursue targets worth acquiring in the offseason.
Which QBs are getting paid more than Patrick Mahomes?
Trevor Lawrence inked a five-year, $275 million deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars this year. It made him the joint most-paid quarterback in the NFL, along with Joe Burrow, at $55 million yearly. Six QBs are making more than $50 million per year.
1. Trevor Lawrence – $55 million
2. Joe Burrow – $55 million
3. Jared Goff – $53 million
4. Justin Herbert – $52.5 million
5. Lamar Jackson – $52 million
6. Jalen Hurts – $51 million
7. Kyler Murray – $46.1 million
8. DeSaun Watson – $46 million
9. Kirk Cousins – $45 million
10. Patrick Mahomes – $45 million
Only time will tell whether the Chiefs will listen to Stephen A. Smith and restructure Mahomes’ contract.
