Chiefs' Karlaftis to Throw Out First Pitch at Royals Game

Karlaftis' fiery personality should be represented well on the mound as he pitches to Royals' catcher Salvador Perez. His enthusiasm for the game of baseball should also extend into the game, benefitting the entire Royals' franchise as he'll continue to cheer from the stands.

While he never played organized baseball, Karlaftis was born in Athens and was a multi-sport athlete growing up, dabbling in football, basketball, track and field, and water polo (which he even played with the Greek national team).

Before moving to the United States when he was just 13, Karlaftis was once a youth player on Greece's men's water polo team. As a child in Athens, he played as a goalkeeper for the youth team of Panathinaikos, a Greek water polo squad that he also actively supports and cheers on.

Karlafctis set his eyes on football after the move, where he chose to go play for the Purdue Boilermakers as a defensive end. After stellar seasons at the college along with earning All-Big Ten Honors, Karlaftis was drafted by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Since then, he's been one of the Chiefs' best defensive players and has consistently been putting up numbers for his squad. In three seasons, Karlaftis has already racked up 24.5 sacks and 115 total tackles.

Karlaftis is still on his 4-year rookie contract, which he signed in 2022 for just under $12 million fully guaranteed, including a signing bonus worth over $5 million. The team did exercise his 5th year option, meaning he'll be under contract through 2026, getting paid over $15 million.

If he continues to perform the way he has in his first three years, there's going to be a lot more coming his way when he starts official contract extension negotiations with the Chiefs' front office.

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