Two years ago, the Chiefs gave receiver Dwayne Bowe a five-year, $56 million contract. After paying him nearly $24 million over the last two years (minus whatever he lost for a one-game substance-abuse suspension in 2014), the Chiefs are moving on.
Moving on to likely another oversized contract for a receiver who may not be used to his full potential in a dink-and-dunk offense that produced zero wide receiver touchdowns in 2014.
But it’s unclear whether Maclin’s deal will rival Bowe’s. No numbers on Maclin’s deal have leaked yet (which is rarely a good sign for the value of a contract), but there’s talk that the total package could be in the range of $11 million per year. Without more regarding guarantees and structure, it’s hard to know precisely what the player will get.
For example, two years ago we all thought Bowe would get $56 million over five years. It’s more like $24 million over two and a looming invitation to try to make up the final $31 million over three elsewhere.
For Maclin, the truth may not be available until the official numbers are filed with the NFL and the NFLPA.