Reviewing the KC Chiefs largest 2023 salary cap hits
The NFL offseason is upon us and the Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions. The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, the first major NFL event of the offseason, is nearing, and then free agency begins at 3 PM Central on March 15.
By 3:00 on March 15, all teams in the NFL must be under the 2023 Salary Cap with no exceptions. Per Over The Cap, the Chiefs are about $3,507,834 above the ceiling with approximately $223,642,478 in projected liabilities for the 2023 season, so they must make moves to become compliant by March 15th.
Which players on the Chiefs are projected to have the most significant salary cap charges in 2023 and what kind of moves could the team make to alter them? Let’s review the five players with the largest cap hits on the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs.
#1: Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback: $49,293,381
It’s no shocker that Patrick Mahomes is scheduled to be the highest-paid player on the team. He’s the best player and also plays the most important position. After having a 2022 cap hit of around $36M, his cap hit will balloon to just under $50M this year, taking up a projected 22.4% of Kansas City’s salary allotment. Due to his significant salary, he’s projected to have the 2nd highest cap hit in the NFL, only trailing Deshaun Watson and Dak Prescott.
Of his $49.29M cap number, just $5.5M is base salary, while $6.34M is prorated bonus money (which he’s already been paid), $34.4M is an already guaranteed roster bonus to be paid later this offseason, $550K is a workout bonus, and he also has $2.5M in other bonus(es) due.
Although his scheduled cap number could be daunting to look at, Brett Veach and his front office may opt to convert up to ~$41.9M of his 2023 base salary and non-prorated bonuses into a single signing bonus to be paid all at once. What this would do is spread that $41.9M in cap hits over five years, thus decreasing his 2023 cap hit to just $15.8M, if they choose to convert all $41.9M. Here is a short article that explains restructuring in the NFL.
On the other hand, just because the Chiefs can convert the high majority of Mahomes’ 2023 salary and bonuses to a single prorated signing bonus, that doesn’t mean they should. When a team uses a base salary restructure, that money is spread out over the remaining contract years and, in this case, would add $8.374M to his cap hits for the next several years.
Brett Veach has restructured contracts in the past, like with Joe Thuney last year, but he needs to use this move wisely. In specific circumstances, restructuring can be an effective way to create cap space in the short term, but it’s more of a loan than it is a silver bullet. Every dollar a team saves has to be repaid in future years. It cannot be used with Mahomes every season of his career.