Most agents tend to characterize new contracts as “extensions,” even though there are no true extensions in the NFL. The old contract goes away, and a new one takes its place.
The player doesn’t have to wait for the new deal to kick in. The new deal starts now, usually with a signing bonus.
By focusing on the new years, agents calculate the “new money.” And the new-money average is always higher than the total value of the deal from signing.
If, for example, a player has one year left on a current deal at $1 million and he gets a three-year, $30 million “extension,” he has a four-year, $31 million deal. The new-money value is $10 million per year. The real value — the value from signing — is $7.75 million per year.
The new-money analysis is used because it makes the numbers bigger, and the contract seemingly better. Those who get the text messages from the agents with the news of the new deal, including the new-money average, pass that information along without mentioning what the new contract actually is worth.
Sometimes, there’s a new contract that exposes the flaw in the new-money analysis. The new Patrick Mahomes deal, for example, adds two years and $239.05 million in new money. Under the new-money analysis, his new-money APY is $119.525 million — nearly twice the prior high-water mark of $60 million per year.
Mahomes isn’t the first player whose new contract leads to new years and new money that generate a ridiculously high new-money APY. Bills quarterback Josh Allen’s contract from 2025 was reported as a six-year, $330 million deal, for an average of $55 million per year. The new-money APY, given what he was due to make on his prior four-year deal, is close to $90 million.
Also, Deshaun Watson’s five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns was signed while he had four years left on his prior deal with the Texans. The new-money average (on the one extra year) was likewise in the range of $90 million.
Then there’s the last deal (for now) that Aaron Donald did with the Rams. The team tore up the existing three years and replaced it with a three-year deal at a higher total payout. In that case, the new-money APY is, technically, infinity.
The extreme examples expose the logical hole in the new-money analysis. The reality is that the old deal is gone and a new deal has taken its place. Almost always, the average payout from the signing of the new deal is much lower than the new-money APY.
Which, again, is why agents use new-money APY. And the teams willingly allow it. If the bigger number makes the player feel better about the contract he has signed than the smaller (and truer) number would, that’s a win for the organization.
Chiefs Clips
There were several reasons why the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014 last season and defensive tackle Chris Jones has identified one area where he and the team needs to improve.
The Chiefs defense only recorded 35 sacks during the 2025 season, which continued a downward trend that started when they recorded 39 in 2024. The Chiefs had 57 sacks on their way to a Super Bowl title in 2023 and Jones, who had seven sacks last season, believes that needs to be reversed in order for the team to rebound this year.
“We’ve got to get more sacks,” Jones said, via Pete Sweeney of the Kansas City Star. “Last year, we [finished] at the bottom [in] sacks, and I think it affected the defense tremendously. And if we want this defense to be a success, I gotta get more sacks.”
Jones’s own run of being named a first-team All-Pro three straight years ended along with the Chiefs’ playoff streak. If he’s back on track, the Chiefs’ chances of making 2025 a one-year blip will look better as well.
Patrick Mahomes is making a little more history.
According to a joint report from ESPN and NFL Network, Mahomes has agreed to a reworked deal that will keep him under contract with the Chiefs through 2033.
Notably, the deal is worth $504.75 million, which is the first contract in NFL history valued at over a half-billion dollars.
“Over the last decade Patrick has become one of the most iconic, beloved sports figures of all-time,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said, via ESPN/NFL Network. “He has helped lead our franchise to five Super Bowl appearances and three championships, he has been instrumental in shaping the Chiefs brand and putting Kansas City on the world stage, and on top of it all he has been an outstanding role model in the community. Patrick is a generational talent and an elite human being, and I’m so excited he will continue to lead our team into the future.”
The report notes the new money is worth $239.05 million. The total value of the contract is $504.75 million from 2026 through 2033, with the first four years being guaranteed at signing.
The contract is worth up to $522.25 million with different incentives and contract escalators.
With his new money beginning in 2027, Mahomes’ deal averages an NFL record $64 million per year.
Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time MVP, suffered a torn ACL last December. But he is on the mend, progressing to 7-on-7 drills during Kansas City’s offseason program. He said recently that his goal is to be on the field for Week 1.
He’s now in a position to start for the Chiefs for even more years to come.
The Chiefs may be making a trade involving an offensive lineman in the near future.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that they are exploring options for trading tackle Wanya Morris. The move comes after an agreement with Morris to look for a new place for him to play in 2026.
Morris was a 2023 third-round pick of the Chiefs and he has appeared in 43 regular season games over the last three years. He started 16 of those games and 11 of those starts came during the 2024 season, but he wound up being moved out of the first team ahead of the playoffs.
Morris would like to find a team that offers him a chance to return to a more prominent role and the Chiefs appear to be open to making that happen if a suitor presents itself.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes told reporters late last month that his goal is to play Week 1, though he recognizes that’s a long way away.
With Kansas City soon wrapping up its offseason program, Mahomes continues to be involved in practice. But he apparently did not do much more in minicamp than he had been during OTAs.
Via Jesse Newell of TheAthletic.com, Mahomes continued to participate in 7-on-7 drills during Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp practice. But he did not participate in team drills.
Newell noted that’s the same as what Mahomes did during voluntary OTAs last week.
Head coach Andy Reid said recently that Mahomes “busted his tail” to put himself in a position to participate as much as he has so far in the offseason program.
With Mahomes being the type of player who often needs to be held back rather than pushed forward when it comes to dealing with an injury, we’ll see how much progress the quarterback makes between now and late July when the Chiefs begin training camp.
Cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is headed back to Kansas City.
According to multiple reports, Sneed will sign with the Chiefs. He visited with the team last week, but there wasn’t much need for either side to spend much time getting to know each other.
Sneed was a 2020 fourth-round pick by the AFC West team and he helped them win a pair of Super Bowls in his four years with the team. He was traded to the Titans before the 2024 season and he signed a four-year deal in Tennessee, but only played 12 games over two years with the team due to injuries and he was released in March.
Sneed had 303 tackles, 10 interceptions, 6.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries in the regular season during his first stint with the Chiefs. He also had 72 tackles, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble in 13 postseason appearances.
The Chiefs wrapped up contracts for both of their first-round picks on Monday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that they have agreed to terms with cornerback Mansoor Delane. Delane was the sixth overall pick in April and the Chiefs reached agreement with 29th pick Peter Woods on his first NFL deal earlier in the day.
Delane’s contract is a four-year pact worth a fully guaranteed $41.9 million. The Chiefs will also have a team option for a fifth season.
Delane joins the Chiefs after an offseason that saw them part ways with several cornerbacks, including Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. That puts the LSU product on track for a significant role right out of the gate in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have reached an agreement with one of their 2026 first-round picks.
Kansas City and defensive tackle Peter Woods have agreed to terms on his four-year rookie deal, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Schefter notes Woods’ fully guaranteed deal is worth $18 million.
Woods, 21, was selected with the No. 29 overall pick in the first round. It was the pick the Chiefs acquired from the Rams as part of the deal for cornerback Trent McDuffie.
Having played his college ball at Clemson, Woods was a first-team All-ACC selection in 2025.
The return of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy could be exactly what the Chiefs’ offense needed.
Bieniemy brings energy and, more importantly, extreme accountability. And the goal is obvious — get the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl, a year after missing the postseason.
“I know this sounds very high school-ish, this answer I’m about to give you,” Bieniemy said, via Jesse Newell of The Athletic. “We’ve got to get back to doing the fundamental things the right way.”
The focus on fundamentals includes basic aspects of the game. Footwork — for quarterbacks, running backs, offensive linemen. Basic details, like linemen having their backs flat in their stance before the snap and receivers running their routes with a plan to get open.
“If we can’t do those things the right way, it don’t matter who the hell we play,” Bieniemy said, per Newell. “So we’ve got to make sure we address those issues and get back to the bread and butter of how this game was played.”
The accountability manifests itself in the simplest of ways. As Newell explains it, Bieniemy kicked the entire starting offense off the field after the players failed to line up properly.
“We can’t get comfortable being comfortable, and not enjoying the fundamentals that we have to work on every single day,” Bieniemy said.
For a team that had won three Super Bowls and had gone to five in six seasons, it’s easy to become complacent about the day-in, day-out details. Bieniemy’s return brings the kind of a kick in the ass that the Chiefs may need after going 1-9 in one-score games in 2025 and missing the playoffs entirely.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has welcomed the approach, because Mahomes has seen what it can do. For any players who have arrived since Bieniemy left after the 2022 season (and a Super Bowl win), Bieniemy’s style could be exactly what the Chiefs need to get back to being the Chiefs the NFL have known since Mahomes became the starter in 2018.
The Seahawks will be defending their second Super Bowl championship in 2026. Before that can happen, the most recent win needs to be made official.
It will be on Thursday, June 11. That’s when, we’re told, the Seahawks will be getting their Super Bowl rings.
In a recent interview with #PFTPM, Super Bowl LX MVP Kenneth Walker III said he’ll be back in Seattle for the ceremony — even though he left in free agency for the Chiefs.
He should be. It’s the crowning achievement of his NFL career to date, and the Seahawks should roll out the red carpet for the guy who stepped in and stepped up when running back Zach Charbonnet suffered a torn ACL in the divisional-round win over the 49ers.
The next goal for the Seahawks will be to win another one. Coach Mike Macdonald has rejected the “run it back” slogan for a twist on the phrase: Run it forward.
That task got a little more difficult this week, when Myles Garrett landed with the Rams.
