The Chiefs yesterday signed QB Patrick Mahomes to a record 10-year contract, and the deal gives the team "clarity over the long-term future," according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said for every NFL team that wants to find the next Mahomes, "I would caution them, make sure you go find the next Hunt family” and partner with people like GM Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid. Because as "great as Mahomes is, greatness is a group effort in the NFL, and right now the Chiefs have the best group effort in the whole league” (“Get Up,” ESPN, 7/7). NFL Network's Michael Silver said Mahomes is the "‘it’ player in football,” and now the Chiefs, “for the foreseeable future, are the ‘it’ team” (“NFL Total Access,” NFL Network, 7/6).
SET UP FOR THE FUTURE: In K.C., Herbie Teope notes Mahomes' new contract extension through '31 is worth "approximately half a billion dollars -- a staggering new record for all of sports worldwide." Mahomes’ agency, Steinberg Sports, tweeted that the deal is a 10-year extension worth $503M, with $477M in "guarantee mechanisms that include built-in outs if those guarantees are not exercised." The extension also "carries a no-trade clause." The deal's total value "easily" surpasses Angels CF Mike Trout’s $430M contract (K.C. STAR, 7/7). ESPN’s Jeff Darlington noted this was "as amicable of a contract negotiation as you really get." Both sides all along "knew they wanted to get it done and they wanted to do it before the start of the season” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 7/6). In K.C., Sam Mellinger notes this is the "first time an NFL player has held sports' richest contract" (K.C. STAR, 7/7).
STRANGE TWIST: In K.C., Pete Grathoff notes in a strange and humorous twist to the story, the first person to report the signing was Katie Camlin, a K.C.-area liquor store employee who tweeted early yesterday afternoon, "A front office employee for the Chiefs came in and bought six bottles of Dom Perignon. Said there’s a big signing today. He said it’s not Chris Jones, so my guess is a Mahomes deal" (K.C. STAR, 7/7).
