In a move that surprises absolutely no one, the Kansas City Chiefs are going to exercise the fifth-year option on cornerback Trent McDuffie, locking in his services for the 2026 season.
At an assigned salary of $13.632 million, not only is this a solid move for the Chiefs, but it also highlights an unfair aspect of the NFL’s fifth-year option formula, one that has left McDuffie underpaid given his on-field accomplishments.
McDuffie, the No. 21 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, has quickly become a key part of the Chiefs’ secondary. He has been a lockdown corner since his rookie season, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2023 and second-team honors in 2024. Despite this impressive resume, McDuffie is set to make a few million less than what he deserves in 2026.
The discrepancy lies in the NFL's standards for fifth-year option pay, which bases a player’s salary on a predetermined formula that fails to account for the All-Pro designation. Under the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, a player must have been selected to at least one Pro Bowl to qualify for a higher salary. However, McDuffie, who has been named an All-Pro twice but never a Pro Bowler, falls into the lower tier of the option’s pay scale.
McDuffie’s fifth-year salary is based on the third to 20th highest salaries at his position, rather than the Pro Bowl or franchise tag levels, which would have given him millions more. With just one Pro Bowl nod, McDuffie would have been slated to earn $17,595,000. With multiple Pro Bowls, that total climbs to $20,186,000, per Over the Cap.
Despite two All-Pro selections, McDuffie’s fifth-year option falls short of what he truly deserves. Here’s why.
For the Chiefs, this decision is a smart one. The fifth-year option allows them to maintain control over one of the league’s top young cornerbacks while giving them time to come to a long-term agreement. Given his importance to the defense, the move is an obvious one.
But for McDuffie, the option is a reminder of how the NFL’s formulas can fail to reflect the true value of a player. Despite his elite status, he’ll be playing in 2026 at a team-friendly salary simply because a silly All-Star game didn't call his name.