Mariner Talk Chat Forum

Making it all the sweeter for the Chiefs, Mahomes actually wanted it that way.

“When I signed my deal, I knew I was going to be pretty set for life, regardless of what the market kind of [dictates],” Mahomes said of his extension last summer. “But you just keep playing. Money is one thing, but when you get those Super Bowl rings, at the end of your career, I think that’s going to be what you look back upon. I think I’ve made enough money from the football field and obviously off of it as well, that it won’t matter at the end of the day.”

In the 2020 offseason, Mahomes walked down a financial path similar to Brady — highly paid, but unlikely to remain the highest paid for very long.

That’s six quarterbacks who have exceeded Mahomes in average annual salary and overall guaranteed money. Soon enough (and barring a Mahomes renegotiation), that list will be joined by Burrow, the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert and Jacksonville Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence. By the start of the 2024 season, Mahomes could be the 10th highest-paid quarterback in the league.

What’s remarkable about this whole history and economics lesson is that one question has run parallel with it. The singular query that nobody could really answer: Would another quarterback go the Mahomes and Brady route, taking lesser money to free up flexibility to keep elite parts of a team together? Brown certainly seemed to hope so with Burrow last summer. What nobody really knew was whether the Bengals’ quarterback would buy into it.

On Tuesday, we might have gotten a peek at the answer.

While Burrow didn’t reveal the particulars of talks, he made two points clear about his future extension when meeting with the media. First, he knows what he wants out of the deal financially. Second, he has been negotiating with an eye on other extensions that will be coming down the pipeline, including what are expected to be pricey deals for wideouts Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. So much so that he has discussed with Higgins and Chase the goal of keeping the offensive core together.

“Whenever you have guys on the team that need to be paid, that’s always on your mind,” Burrow said Tuesday. “You want that to be a focal point. We’re working to make that happen.”

Michael K. wrote: ↑

Wed May 17, 2023 5:34 pm

“When I signed my deal, I knew I was going to be pretty set for life, regardless of what the market kind of [dictates],” Mahomes said of his extension last summer. “But you just keep playing. Money is one thing, but when you get those Super Bowl rings, at the end of your career, I think that’s going to be what you look back upon. I think I’ve made enough money from the football field and obviously off of it as well, that it won’t matter at the end of the day.”

douche wrote: ↑

Wed May 17, 2023 6:26 pm

Kudos to Mahomes. It takes a certain level of intelligence and maturity to understand this.

Captain 97 wrote: ↑

Wed May 17, 2023 8:02 pm

Imagine signing a 450 Million dollar contract and being able to convince people that you gave the team a bargain.

Here are Mahome's Cap Hits over the next several years compared to Russell's.

2022 Russell 17 Million - Mahomes 35 Million
2023 Russell 22 Million - Mahomes 39 Million
2024 Russell 35 Million - Mahomes 46 Million
2025 Russell 55 Million - Mahomes 48 Million
2026 Russell 58 Million - Mahomes 44 Million
2027 Russell 53 Million - Mahomes 62 Million
Total Russell 240 Million - Mahomes 274 Million

Mahomes contract is every bit as crippling as Russell's The only difference is Mahomes can actually still play QB at an elite level.

douche wrote: ↑

Wed May 17, 2023 10:00 pm

C'mon, DT, they're high school sweethearts and they're in love!