Teams making decisions about picking up the fifth-year options on the contracts of their 2023 first-round picks now know how much that will cost.
The NFL revealed the values on Friday afternoon. There are four levels of compensation at each position. Players who have made multiple Pro Bowls as an original selection are at the top followed by players with one Pro Bowl selection and players who have hit playing time milestones before reaching the lowest level.
Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud were the first two picks of that draft and both of them reached the playing time level of compensation. That will leave them with fully guaranteed salaries of $25.904 million if the teams decide to exercise the options, but longer-term extensions are also a possibility now that they have finished their third seasons.
The full list of 2023 first-rounders — there were 31 that year because the Dolphins were stripped of their pick — and their fifth-year option salaries appears below:
1. Panthers QB Bryce Young — $25.904 million (playing time).
2. Texans QB C.J. Stroud — $25.904 million (playing time).
3. Texans DE Will Anderson — $21.512 (Pro Bowl).
4. Colts QB Anthony Richardson — $22.483 million (base).
5. Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon — $21.161 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
6. Cardinals OT Paris Johnson — $19.072 million (playing time).
7. Raiders DE Tyree Wilson — $14.475 million (base).
8. Falcons RB Bijan Robinson — $11.323 million (Pro Bowl).
9. Eagles DT Jalen Carter — $27.127 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
10. Bears OT Darnell Wright — $19.072 million (playing time).
11. Titans OG Peter Skoronski — $19.072 million (playing time).
12. Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs — $14.293 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
13. Packers DE Lukas Van Ness — $14.475 million (base).
14. Steelers OT Broderick Jones — $19.072 million (playing time).
15. Jets DE Will McDonald — $14.475 million (base).
16. Rams CB Emmanuel Forbes — $12.633 million (base).
17. Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez — $18.119 million (Pro Bowl).
18. Lions LB Jack Campbell — $21.925 million (Pro Bowl).
19. Buccaneers DT Calijah Kancey — $15.451 (playing time).
20. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba — $23.852 million (Pro Bowl).
21. Chargers WR Quentin Johnston — $18 million (playing time).
22. Ravens WR Zay Flowers — $27.298 million (multiple Pro Bowls).
23. Vikings WR Jordan Addison — $18 million (playing time).
24. Giants CB Deonte Banks — $12.633 million (base).
25. Bills TE Dalton Kincaid — $8.162 million (base).
26. Jets DT Mazi Smith — $13.391 million (base) Smith was traded to the Jets by the Cowboys.
27. Jaguars OT Anton Harrison — $19.072 million (playing time).
28. Bengals DE Myles Murphy — $14.475 million (base).
29. Saints DT Bryan Bresee — $13.391 million (base).
30. Eagles LB Nolan Smith — $13.752 million (base).
31. Chiefs Felix Anudike-Uzomah — $14.475 million (base).
Chiefs Clips
College football players who are good enough to turn pro are increasingly choosing to stay in college, where their NIL paychecks can rival what they’d be making in the NFL.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said now that the NCAA allows players to make money off their names, images and likenesses, players aren’t entering the draft because of the money they can make in college. Veach said that the Chiefs already had an early version of their draft board set before the deadline for players to enter the draft, and a large proportion of the Chiefs’ top prospects decided to stay in college.
“When the official decision date for the underclassmen came, I believe we moved over 25 guys off our board that we had Top 75, Top 100,” Veach said. “So it’s really impacts, I think, the draft, and then you’re getting older, older prospects as you go on. I don’t think that’s going to change any time soon and I think that’s something we have to adapt to.”
The Chiefs are now finding that the draft is dominated by older players who have fully exhausted their NCAA eligibility — meaning they’ll be drafting some players who are older than players currently on the Chiefs’ roster.
“You see their birth dates and then you look at the roster and a lot of our guys are as young as these guys,” Veach said.
Veach said where he really sees it is on Day 2 of the draft, which used to have a lot of talented prospects who hadn’t played a lot of college football. Those players are typically transferring to other schools now rather than moving to the NFL.
“Typically, the second and third round would be those guys that maybe they didn’t play a lot, but they were young,” he said. “Well, now these guys are just bouncing and getting paid by another school and getting paid and playing. So Round 2, 3, 4, the younger developmental guys who haven’t scratched the surface yet, you’re getting more finished product so that’s challenging, but that’s what we have to adapt to and how we position our board.”
The transfer portal and NIL have fundamentally changed college football. Which means they’ve fundamentally changed the NFL draft as well.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie is regarded as one of Kansas City’s best defensive players.
He’s also approaching the end of his rookie deal.
Because the Chiefs picked up his fifth-year option last spring, McDuffie is under contract for 2026. But that means McDuffie is also in line for an extension.
During his press conference on Tuesday at the scouting combine, General Manager Brett Veach noted the Chiefs would like to have McDuffie back and have made speaking with his representation a priority this week.
“We had a lot of dialogue with Trent last spring, last summer,” Veach said. “He’s first out of the gate, I think, tomorrow. So, looking forward to getting with him. And, obviously, Trent’s a great player and we’ll see what we can do there.
“But, certainly would love to have Trent back and for the long-term.”
McDuffie, 25, was the No. 21 overall pick of the 2022 draft. He’s started all 56 regular-season games he’s played for Kansas City, recording three interceptions, 34 passes defensed, eight forced fumbles, 5.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and 15 quarterback hits.
Travis Kelce is slated to become a free agent for the first time in his career next month.
But if Kelce elects to return for a 14th season, Kansas City doesn’t intend to have him playing elsewhere.
After head coach Andy Reid said late last week that there’s been communication between the two sides, General Manager Brett Veach said on Tuesday that the club is prepared for Kelce to retire or to return.
“Coach mentioned on Friday he’s had great dialogue with Travis,” Veach said at the scouting combine in Indianapolis. “I’m sure we’re going to see [Kelce’s agent] here — just like we will all the other players’ agents — and we’ll continue that dialogue.
“But Travis is the best. He’s an icon. Hopefully, he comes back and we’ll just kind of let that process play out.”
With this being a different situation for the team and Kelce, Veach noted the club is discussing both whether or not the tight end will return and what a contract might look like for him in 2026.
“It’s not your typical, hey, 27-year-old, first time in free agency,” Veach said. “Travis has done everything, he’s accomplished everything. He’s about to get married. He’s got a lot going on.
“You need some sort of deadline. But at the same time, it’s Travis Kelce. So we’re just going to continue to have positive dialogue and see where this thing ends. But I think we’re trying to position ourselves where either way, we have a plan moving forward.”
Last year, Kelce played all 17 games, registering 76 receptions for 851 yards with five touchdowns. After averaging a career-low 8.5 yards per reception in 2024, Kelce finished 2025 with 11.2 yards per reception — his best mark in that category since 2022.
The Chiefs have started remaking their roster for the 2026 season by parting ways with a veteran defensive lineman.
The team posted a thank you message to defensive end Mike Danna on social media on Monday afternoon and multiple reports confirm that he has been released. Danna was set to enter the final year of the three-year contract he signed with Kansas City in 2024.
Danna’s departure will clear over $8.9 million in salary cap space while leaving over $2.16 million in dead money.
Danna was a 2020 fifth-round pick who appeared in 87 regular season games and 16 postseason games for the Chiefs. He had 221 tackles, 23.5 sacks, an interception, and seven forced fumbles during his time with the team.
Running back Javonte Williams bet on himself last year, signing a one-year, $3 million deal. He delivered, with a career-high 1,200 rushing yards.
His reward was a three-year, $24 million deal to remain with the Cowboys.
Since the Williams deal was the first significant contract signed by a looming free agent, it’s important to remember a few things as we approach new-contract season. The initial reports routinely overstate the true value of the contract. For example, the reported $16 million in guarantees for Williams surely aren’t fully guaranteed at signing, and there’s little about the structure of the deal. There could be a little fudging at play to make the deal look better than it is, with the reporters who rush to Twitter with the early information rarely if ever insisting on full and accurate details. (If they do, someone else gets the scoop.)
For now, even the potentially inflated initial reporting reinforces an important point: The running back position continues to be undervalued.
The deal, if it’s truly worth $8 million per year, puts Williams at 16th among all current running backs. And while he took the offer before the annual tampering festival in Indianapolis, it’s believed that the offer the took was the best one he was going to get.
It’s also possible the Cowboys tried aggressively to get Williams signed before he could hit the market, perhaps by trotting out their CBA-violating practice of negotiating directly with the player. Or by making it clear that they’ll find another cheap veteran running back in the second or third wave of free agency, when players sign modest one-year deals.
Still, what would Williams have gotten on the open market? The absence of state income taxes in Texas are a factor. (Most players only care about APY, and that’s often a mistake.) Only the superstars at the position get market value. Eagles running back Saquon Barkley leads the way, at $20.6 million per year. 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey’s current deal has a new-money average of $19 million.
It happens for one very simple reason. The supply of capable running backs outweighs demand. Teams can resort to the draft for a younger, cheaper, and usually healthier player in lieu of paying a veteran who may not be able to duplicate his performance in a contract year.
Every year, college football generates plenty of running backs who can play at the NFL level, if they can be trusted to hold onto the ball and if they are able to pick up blitzers in pass protection. Most of them have their best years under slotted rookie contracts. When those expire, teams look for another young player to replace them.
The Williams contract gives other teams a data point that will become relevant to their negotiations with running backs. The other players who’ll be trying to get paid (Kenneth Walker III, Breece Hall, Travis Etienne, Rico Dowdle, Rachaad White, Isiah Pacheco, JK Dobbins) will have to deal with the argument that a guy who rushed for 1,200 yards in 2025 got only $8 million per year. (The counter would include that Williams isn’t much of a factor in the passing game, and that he lacks breakaway speed.)
Then there’s Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Currently eligible for a second deal, he has shown the kind of superstar ability that would justify a market-level contract.
And how about Falcons running back Bijan Robinson? Repeatedly called the best player in the entire league by his former head coach, Raheem Morris, Robinson will be in line for a superstar contract, too.
Will the Williams deal hold down what the Lions will offer Gibbs and what the Falcons will offer Robinson? It shouldn’t be a factor, at all. Gibbs and Robinson are far closer to Barkley and McCaffrey than the players who are hitting the market. Still, all running backs who are ready to become free agents will have to deal with the fact — as underscored by the Williams deal — that the running back market continues to be not what it could be, or perhaps what it should be.
The restaurant started by Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce is getting some free publicity, via an apparent effort by a largely unknown sneaker company to generate some free publicity.
Via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, 1587 Sneakers has sued Mahomes, Kelces, and their business partners over the 1587 Prime steakhouse in Kansas City.
The lawsuit contends that 1587 Sneakers brand began selling shoes in April 13, 2023, before 1587 Prime opened. However, 1587 Sneakers didn’t apply for the “1587" trademark until October 2025. 1587 Prime filed a trademark application in December 2023.
The companies have pursued trademark protections in different categories. 1587 Prime focuses on bars and restaurants, while 1587 Sneakers seeks a trademark in the clothing realm.
Complicating the situation is the fact that 1587 Prime also sells clothing. Also, 1587 Sneakers contends the customers have contacted the company under the misimpression that it’s affiliated with 1587 Prime.
Maybe we’re just missing something, but doesn’t that help 1587 Sneakers?
Then again, the lawsuit helps it, too. Because people who had never heard of 1587 Sneakers (like me) are now aware of it.
Travis Kelce may not be ready to spend plenty of time golfing from July to January.
Despite signs and signals that Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was ready to retire from pro football, current indications point to a fourteenth NFL season.
On Friday, Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters that the team and Kelce’s representatives are talking about a new deal.
“There is communication,” Reid said regarding negotiations with Kelce, via Nate Taylor of ESPN.com. “That’s the main thing. I’ve said this before: As long as there’s communication, I’m good. That means people want to move forward. I think that’s where Travis is.”
Reid then tapped the brakes, a bit.
“I’m not trying to put words in his mouth at all, and I try to give him some space here,” Reid said. “He’s been doing this a long time, and he can sort all that out as he goes forward. But we’re proceeding with that.”
Kelce is due to become a free agent for the first time in his career. There’s been no indication that he’s thinking about ending his career with another team. It most likely will be the Chiefs or no one.
Still, the price will have to be right. On one hand, Kelce doesn’t need the money; he’s making a lot more through his podcast and other endeavors. On the other hand, he’s not going to play for the minimum.
There’s a respect factor that reflects his value to the organization. And the Chiefs recently cleared $43 million in cap space by restructuring quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s contract.
Kelce seemed to be poised to retire a year ago, if the Chiefs had won a record third straight Super Bowl. He decided to continue. The return of Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator could be the thing that gets Kelce, 36, to give it another go.
He has the rest of his life to not play football. Once it’s done, it’s done. (Except for those who unretire.) If Kelce still enjoys it — and if he can still physically do it — why stop?
The clock is nevertheless ticking. If Kelce isn’t going to play in 2026, the Chiefs need to make other plans. And the official negotiating window for free agency opens in only 10 days.
Tyreek Hill is on the open market.
He’s posted himself working out in Kansas City.
The Chiefs could use some help offensively.
Eric Bienemy just returned to the organization as offensive coordinator.
Are you connecting the dots, too?
If it seems inevitable that Hill will rejoin the Chiefs at some point, head coach Andy Reid threw a little cold water on that notion during his Friday press conference.
“Yeah, listen, we go through everything and everybody. That’s how [G.M.] Brett [Veach] does,” Reid said. “I don’t even know if Tyreek is healthy right now to do anything. So, I’m sure he’s working hard on that part of it, trying to get that all straightened out.
“But yeah, listen, we talk about everything. So there’s nothing happening there, but we know what you know — that he’s out there and cranking away, trying to get himself back to where he can play, period.”
Hill suffered a torn ACL during in Week 4, prematurely ending his10th season. He caught 21 passes for 265 yards with one touchdown before the injury.
Two of Hill first-team, All-Pro selections for receiver came with the Chiefs — in 2018 and in 2020. He also was a first-team, All-Pro returner as a rookie in 2016.
In his six seasons with the franchise, Hill caught 479 passes for 6,630 yards with 56 touchdowns in 91 games. He also had 84 postseason receptions for 1,081 yards with five touchdowns in 13 games, winning Super Bowl LIV with the Chiefs to cap the 2019 season.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid will not be attending the scouting combine next week.
Reid told reporters in a Friday video conference that he recently had a procedure on his knee, so he will miss the festivities in Indianapolis.
“I’m on IR for about a second here,” Reid joked in his presser. “Not long.”
Reid noted that while the offseason has been longer than the Chiefs are accustomed to after missing the postseason for the first time since 2014 — and the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2017 — there is a silver lining in having the No. 9 overall pick in the upcoming draft.
“You try to find some positives in sitting where you’re at and why you’re there and the positives are you get yourself geared down and get better,” Reid said. “So, this has a chance to help you get better. And that’s how [G.M.] Brett [Veach] feels and that’s the way he’s going about it.
“And nobody wants to be picking at ninth, but we are — that’s the reality of it. And so, you dig in and you put a plan together and go for it the best you can.”
