Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has agreed to a restructured contract that converted his $10.4 million roster bonus and $44.05 million base salary for the 2026-27 season into a fully guaranteed roster bonus, according to the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Through this move, the Chiefs freed up $43.56 million in cap space.

The renegotiated contract move was first reported by Over the Cap's John Fitzgerald.

In July 2020, Patrick Mahomes signed a ten-year, $450 million contract extension, one of the largest in North American sports history. However, he has restructured his contract each of the last four years.

Mahomes, who is still recovering from a torn ACL, was originally scheduled to have a $78.21 million cap hit this season. Now, though, his 2026 cap hit will only be $34.65 million. Next season, he will have cost $85.25 million against the salary cap.

Though helpful, the Chiefs are not out of financial trouble yet. Kansas City is still roughly $11 million over the projected salary cap for next season. Therefore, they will have to renegotiate more deals or release established veterans to free up more cap space.

Selflessness goes a long way, but the Chiefs aren't done

Before this move was announced, the Chiefs were in financial hell and were projected to be more than $50 million over the cap this off-season. Now, they're in a much more manageable position and are only $11.3 million over the cap. Not only did this restructuring save over $43.5 million, but it also moved KC from last in the NFL in cap space to 28th. That might not sound like a big jump, but with ten teams currently in the red, every dollar counts.

There are still some decisions that the Chiefs will have to make this off-season in order to get out of the red. According to John Fitzgerald, former six-time All-Pro defensive lineman Chris Jones could be the next person in line to renegotiate his deal. Now that Mahomes has re-worked his deal, Chris Jones has the biggest cap hit in Kansas City this season ($44.8 million). KC won't be able to save $43.5 million by restructuring his deal, but if they could save between $15 million and $20 million, it would be a huge win and would get them out of the red.

Other players on the roster might be cut to save some money. After using a first-round pick in last year's draft on an offensive tackle, they could part ways with Jawaan Taylor before June 1st, which would save $20 million. Then again, if they like Taylor's production, fellow offensive lineman Jaylon Moore might be released to save $7.9 million. If KC wanted to trim the fat elsewhere, they could let go of edge rusher Mike Danna, linebacker Drue Tranquill, and tight end Noah Gray. If the Chiefs execute those moves at the right time, it could result in about $20.4 million in cap savings.

This is just a complicated way of saying that Kansas City is not done tinkering with its salary cap and current contracts. The good news is that their selfless quarterback just made it that much easier for the Chiefs to get out of the red and spend money on free agents and draft picks this off-season.