Contract details for new Chiefs QB Carson Wentz show the signing is a major bargain

At face value, that might look like more than the Chiefs have paid for a backup QB since Chad Henne got a two-year deal with the team back in 2018. It's certainly more than the veteran salary benefit the Chiefs paid for Blaine Gabbert a season ago. There are plenty of reasons to like this deal, though.

Why is the Carson Wentz deal a bargain for the Chiefs?

In terms of experience-to-pay ratio, Wentz certainly takes the cake when it comes to bargains. Other veteran backups like Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, and Jacoby Brissett all signed deals that will pay them over $4 million in 2024, while the total value of the deal for Wentz is $3.25 million. That's a pretty solid deal for a player who has a winning record as a starter in his career (47-45-1). 

Beyond that, Wentz is unlikely to impact the team's projected compensatory picks for the 2025 NFL season. According to Over The Cap's Nick Korte, the contract for Wentz only qualifies him toward the compensatory pick formula if he reaches the snap count threshold for the 2024 NFL season. That means he'd likely have to play more than 25% of the team's offensive snaps next year, which is unlikely unless something goes terribly wrong for Kansas City. Gabbert started the final game of the season and played a few snaps in blowouts, and he didn't even play 7% of the team's offensive snaps in 2023.

If Wentz doesn't qualify, that'd give Kansas City two seventh-round draft picks in 2025 via the compensatory pick formula.