Mahomes after QB megadeals: I’m not underpaid

Patrick Mahomes says he doesn’t feel a sense of urgency for the Kansas City Chiefs to “show me the money” after a slew of new quarterback megadeals on the NFL landscape.

Tua Tagovailoa parroted the famous movie line after signing his new four-year, $212.4 million extension with the Miami Dolphins. Just hours after that signing, Jordan Love inked a four-year, $220 million deal with the Green Bay Packers.

Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl MVP, signed a 10-year, $450 million deal in 2020. That deal was restructured last season, with Mahomes, 28, set to earn $210.6 million through 2026 — an average of $52.6 million per season — with plans to revisit the agreement after that.

Instead of grumbling over the ever-rising fiscal bar at the position, Mahomes instead applauded what’s happening around the league.

“It’s awesome for the game of football,” Mahomes told USA Today Sports on Sunday. “It’s awesome for the quarterback position, but I think all positions.

“I know every time a contract comes up, everybody looks at my APY [average per year] and everything like that. I’m doing pretty well myself. For me, it’s just about going out there trying to win football games, trying to make money for my family at the end of the day. I feel like I’m doing a great job of that.”

Mahomes, a two-time league MVP and six-time Pro Bowl selection who has thrown for 28,424 yards and accounted for 231 touchdowns in his seven NFL seasons, ranks 11th among quarterbacks in average annual salary, but the restructure has him more in line with the newer megadeals being announced.

So yes, there’s no feeling in Mahomes’ camp that he’s underpaid.

“I think we do a great job of managing my money, to be able to pay me a lot of money and keep a good team around me,” Mahomes told USA Today Sports. “I know we’ve kind of restructured it a couple of times and got the cash flow up in certain spots and certain years. It’s about having a good dialogue, good communication with the front office, with ownership. We’ve done that here. And as we’ve been able to allow me to be a highly paid guy while at the same time build a great team around me.

“… It’s about having that plan, that constant communication. And we have that here. I’m happy to see guys going out and getting as much money as possible. That’s awesome for the sport. But here we have a great communication system where I feel like we’ve done the best with what we can do.”

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