The Why: Chiefs Restructuring Patrick Mahomes Contract… Again

This comes at a critical time for Kansas City, who were facing a significant cap crunch (estimated around $50-60 million over the projected 2026 cap before this move). Even after the restructure, they’re still roughly $11 million over the cap, so more moves—like potential restructures on players such as Chris Jones or cuts/trades—will likely follow to get compliant ahead of free agency.

Is There A Downside To This Move?

Doing this adds about $10.89 million per year to Mahomes’ cap hits from 2027 onward, pushing his 2027 cap hit above $85 million. This suggests another restructure or even a full contract extension/modification could be on the horizon by 2028 to keep things sustainable.

Mahomes, who’s recovering from a season-ending knee injury (torn ACL in 2025), continues to be a willing partner in these cap gymnastics. It’s a classic Chiefs move to stay aggressive despite recent challenges (missing the playoffs in 2025 after three straight Super Bowl appearances).

This aligns with reports from ESPN, NFL.com, Adam Schefter, and others confirming the details. Big win for cap relief in the short term, but it kicks the can down the road a bit. One fan wrote, “Signing him to a 10-year deal was the best decision the franchise has made. This isn’t the first time they’ve been able to restructure his contract to create cap space.” When challenged on the decision by another fan, because the Chiefs will still owe him big money when he’s washed up, the response was, “That’s kind of the point, they’re going to push money down the road and wait until they’re no longer contending for Super Bowls to pay out the rest.”