In the past, Tershawn Wharton could be had for a song. One year later, the Kansas City Chiefs are going to have to fight off competing suitors for his services.
According to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, the bidding on Wharton is expected to come from multiple franchises this offseason after putting up a career-best season in the Chiefs' pursuit of a three-peat. Schultz notes that several teams have shown interest and writes, "Wharton is a name who could exceed expectations in free agency next week."
Wharton was always a great story for the Chiefs' defense as a former prospect out of Missouri S&T—the ultimate small college underdog story. The Chiefs invited him to rookie minicamp as an undrafted player, and he ended up making the active roster. Wharton was an immediate contributor for K.C. up front in every game that first season, and he's been entrenched as an appreciated rotational player along the interior ever since.
That said, few in Chiefs Kingdom could have predicted he would turn in the sort of season that he had in 2024. Last offseason, the Chiefs were able to retain Wharton beyond his rookie deal despite offering no long-term security or major payday—a single-season contract worth nearly $2.75 million. That's just slightly more than Derrick Nnadi, for comparison's sake.
The Chiefs might have a tough time outbidding the rest of the NFL to keep Wharton for another season or more.
Some players are late bloomers, however, and Wharton needed until his fifth NFL season to truly break out. In 2024, Wharton set a career high in sacks with 6.5 and had 23 total pressures as the Chiefs learned to lean on him far more than any previous season in the interior by playing him on 62 percent of all snaps.
Wharton might have needed a bit more time at the NFL level to adjust his game due to making such a competitive leap coming out of Missouri S&T. However, it's also important to remember that he tore his ACL in Week 5 of his third NFL season—halting his development and forcing him to miss considerable time.
Now Wharton is positioned to grab the bag, as they say, on the open market. Spotrac has his market value assessment at over $7 million per season and predicts a three-year, $22 million contract is in reach. That's great news for Wharton but it also might be hard to stomach for the Chiefs.