Chiefs Nearing Deadline on Contract Decision for Pro Bowl Lineman

With training camp starting next week, the Kansas City Chiefs are approaching the deadline to make a decision on offensive lineman Trey Smith and his new contract.

Smith has been placed on the franchise tag, which would pay him a fully-guaranteed $23.4 million in 2025.

The intent, however, is for the Chiefs to lock down their lineman with a long-term contract, but that window of opportunity is closing quickly.

Kansas City has until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday July 14 to agree to terms on a new deal with Smith, or else he will play this year on the tag. If the latter were to be the case, he could be eligible to receive a second franchise tag (at $28 million) or elect to enter free agency next offseason.

According to Pro Football Talk, a source close to the situation says "at this point the long-term deal has to make sense for Smith to accept it."

However, there have been no signs of progress toward a new contract yet, despite how obvious a decision it is for KC to try to secure their right guard.

PFT also mentions an interesting factor to consider for a valuable player like Smith, who has been an every-game starter since his sixth-round draft pick in 2021.

"There’s another wrinkle to this that potentially introduces an unprecedented dynamic to the talks," Mike Florio wrote. "Given the Chiefs’ annual postseason runs, the team gets much more out of its players than other teams receive. Already, Smith has played 13 extra games in four years — taking 100 percent of the snaps in each one."

This creates leverage for Smith to potentially demand contract incentives that add compensation with playoff success. However, if Smith's extra impact in the postseason is compensated in contract terms, then every Chiefs player from here on out would want a contract with that language ... something KC would like to avoid.

Since star quarterback Patrick Mahomes has become the starter, the Chiefs' two worst postseason finishes have been overtime losses in the AFC Championship Game. The other five seasons ended in a Super Bowl berth. That's a lot of extra games each season.

"We don’t know whether Smith and the Chiefs are haggling over that issue," Florio clarified. "The simple truth is that every player who has been a key piece of the team’s success (Mahomes included) should be making that request. And the more physical their job description (like Smith), the better the argument for engineering extra pay for extra work."

Smith, 26, is coming off his first Pro Bowl selection in 2024.