Patrick Mahomes is one of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL, but not the highest-paid. The Kansas City Chiefs player has an honest take on this situation, sending a message to the rest of the league.
The Chiefs really got the jackpot with Patrick Mahomes. Kansas City drafted him with the 10th-overall pick in 2017. Since then, the quarterback has helped them win two Super Bowls, and it seems like he won’t stop there.
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For this reason, the Chiefs decided to give Mahomes one of the most lucrative deals in sports history. The quarterback signed a 10-year, $450 million deal, but now that other players have surpassed him, he has addressed the matter.
Patrick Mahomes gets real on not being the highest-paid quarterback
Despite having two Super Bowl rings, Mahomes is not the highest-paid player in the NFL. He was the first one of this new generation of quarterbacks to earn a long-term deal, setting the bar for the rest of them.
Recently, Daniel Jones (Giants), Jalen Hurts (Eagles), and Lamar Jackson (Ravens) signed huge deals with their teams. This moved Patrick Mahomes to the seventh position of the highest-paid players, but this is not a problem for the Chiefs player as he has other priorities beyond earning a lot of money.
“I’ve always said I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment,” he said. “We see what’s going on around the league, but at the same time, I’ll never do anything that’s going to hurt us from keeping the great players around me. So it’s kind of teetering around that line.”
This is the same mentality that Tom Brady had during his career. The legendary quarterback was never one of the best-paid players in the league, which gave his teams the opportunity to sign other pieces that helped him succeed.
“You just want to do whatever to not hurt other quarterbacks [financially],” Mahomes said. “Whenever their contracts come up, you want to keep the bar pushing [higher].
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“It’s not about being the highest-paid guy; it’s not about making a ton of money. I’ve made enough money where I’ll be set for the rest of my life. But at the same time, you got to find that line where you’re making a good amount of money but you’re still keeping a lot of great players around you so you can win these Super Bowls and you’re able to compete in these games.”
