4 Chiefs players who can make serious money with a strong Super Bowl
By Matt Conner
Mike Danna, DL
Speaking of defensive players who are going to sneak out the back of Arrowhead simply because the Chiefs don't have enough money, MIke Danna is the ideal example of the king of underappreciated player who was a much better player than anyone could have predicted and who will be sorely missed—and yet there's little the team can do about it.
Perhaps there's enough goodwill here for Danna to offer the Chiefs a decent discount to stick around and help them win games, but that feels like a pipe dream. The truth is that the former fifth-round pick has overplayed his contract since he first arrived in K.C., and given the maxim that a team can never have enough pass rushers, some team is going to give Danna a healthy amount of money to be a part of their rotation.
Danna came into the league as a versatile lineman out of Michigan and he's lived up to that billing as a player who can slide inside on occasion. That said, he's well-rounded enough to set the edge and provide a reliable presence outside. He started all 16 games for the Chiefs as a first-year starter and set a career high with 6.5 sacks.
If Ogbonnia Okoronkwo can earn a 3-year, $19M deal from the Browns as an older journeyman with lesser numbers, we might expect to see Danna command $8-9M annually—basically Charles Omenihu numbers—but that number could climb even higher if he whets the appetite of some general manager with a Super Bowl to remember.