Offseason: Around the NFL

[SunnySide]

The structure of this deal makes me think it will end up as a six-year, $183.4 million pact before the two sides negotiate a new contract after the 2025 season finishes, which would reduce $319.2 million of this deal to play money.

What on earth is a 'guarantee mechanism'?

The hot new term coined to make the Mahomes deal look even more significant, it appears that a guarantee mechanism is the language in a deal designed to trigger a guarantee at a particular date and time. The language itself is nothing new, but it plays a unique role in this particular extension.

Let's start with a quick explainer. Most years of NFL contracts aren't guaranteed, meaning that a veteran could theoretically make it all the way through the preseason before being cut without their income guaranteeing. As an example, Larry Warford's base salary of $7.7 million with the Saints wasn't guaranteed this season. The team was able to keep him on its roster throughout free agency, but once New Orleans drafted Cesar Ruiz in the first round, it no longer needed Warford and cut him in May, freeing up that $7.7 million.

When veterans sign extensions, they typically try to get it in writing that their organization will have to guarantee their salary at or near the beginning of the new league year in March, forcing their teams to either keep them or cut them while the league is still throwing around free-agent money. In Mahomes' case, for example, the Chiefs have to guarantee each of his salaries and roster bonuses by the third day of each league year.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...chiefs-qb-deal


So its more like 30.5M a year for 6 years?