Alex Smith: a true NFL bargain

I know what some of you are going to say….”It’s not the money, it’s being tied to Smith long term so that we can’t seriously look for a new quarterback!”

Let’s put aside the fact that the Chiefs already have three young quarterbacks to groom currently on their roster in Aaron Murray, Tyler Bray, and rookie Kevin Hogan….if you still want the Chiefs to do more to find an heir apparent to Alex Smith, his contract is not going to be a concern going forward from here. Obviously Smith is locked in as the starter in 2016, but with only two years remaining after this season most of Smith’s guaranteed money will be off the books.

If the Chiefs were to cut Smith this offseason it would have cost them a staggering $24.9 million in dead money against the cap. That’s actually $7.1 million more than his cap number if he’s on the roster. However, next season that drops drastically. If KC were to cut Smith a year from now they only have to count $7.2 million in dead money against the cap. Then if they were to cut him before the final year of his current deal that dead money cap hit is only $3.6 million (and would actually save them $17 million that season).

If Alex Smith plays great this season none of that matters. I’m personally hoping that Smith has his best year to date this season and the Chiefs have a chance to compete for a Super Bowl. However, its nice knowing that if Smith isn’t fantastic the Chiefs are now in a perfect place to begin seriously looking for his successor.

The Chiefs could use a high draft pick next year (assuming they don’t think they have their next guy already on the roster), let him develop for one year behind Smith (if needed) and then cut Smith before the final year of his deal and hand things over to the new guy with only a $3.6 million dollar cap hit. For perspective, the Chiefs are taking a $5.2 million cap hit this year for Ben Grubbs so $3.6 million is not a big deal at all.

Next: Clear conclusion