Salary cap gains could help Chiefs extend Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones

The Kansas City Chiefs might not have the cap issues that everyone assumes if the salary cap escalates as reports are indicating.

So much of the conversation surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason surrounds their financial situation. The Chiefs, as things stand now, seem to have very little cap space with which to address needs and looming contract extensions, and the commonly held belief to date is that Brett Veach is going to have to make some very difficult decisions.

However, a new report from FanSided’s own Matt Verdarame indicates that a serious escalation in the salary cap should be expected with a new labor agreement between owners and players, one that allows for teams to spend a lot more.

Here are the details:

If the salary cap is able to jump by as much as $35 to $40 million, that much is the difference to completely absorb some of the aforementioned extensions that were supposed to leave the Chiefs hurting.

Right now, the Chiefs just franchised Chris Jones at a rate of $15.5 million for next season. A long-term deal is supposedly going to cost some team, whether it’s the Chiefs or someone else footing the bill, an average of approximately $20 million per season, or the sort of commitment already given to fellow defensive lineman Frank Clark. In this scenario, however, the Chiefs could not only afford to add Jones but a second clone at the same rate.

Even more important is a quarterback deal for Patrick Mahomes that will make him the game’s highest paid player. Right now, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson sets the high mark with an extension reached in 2019 that rewarded him with an average of $35 million per season through 2023. If Mahomes eclipses that deal even at $40 million, such an incredible leap in the cap could completely absorb the blow of the game’s most expensive player.

Basically, the timing of the CBA is God’s gift to the Kansas City Chiefs. Here is a bright young team on the verge of being a dynasty who might have timed their ascent so well that they have to avoid the typical purging that happens after a Super Bowl. Imagine a championship team with money to spend. Imagine a Lombardi-hoisting franchise who can lock up everyone.

They say if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, but maybe, just maybe, there’s just some magical timing here—enough to keep everyone happily together in Kansas City.