Patrick Mahomes will be paid about $56 million in cash this year. Yet by restructuring his contract, the Chiefs lowered Mahomes’ cap hit to $35 million.
How? It’s less complicated than it seems. I think. Let me explain.
Inside: How contract restructuring works, free agent rankings and what I learned from Jahmyr Gibbs and Aidan Hutchinson at the Rocket booth in San Francisco.
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How NFL contract restructuring works
The first thing to understand is how players are paid. That can include a base salary, a prorated signing bonus, a roster bonus and a workout bonus. Other forms include option bonuses, reporting bonuses and performance incentives.
Here’s how Mahomes was paid last year and what he projects to be paid moving forward, per Over The Cap:
When it comes to the salary cap, the amount of total cash Mahomes receives isn’t exactly relevant. What matters is how he’s paid, as each type impacts the cap differently.
- Base salaries count 100 percent against the cap in the year they are paid. Mahomes’ salary was only $1.25 million last season, for instance. Most other bonuses are counted similarly.
- The biggest difference is the prorated signing bonus, identified in the above chart as “Signing.” Signing bonuses can be spread out evenly over a maximum of five years from when they are paid.
That latter is what the Chiefs capitalize on. Prior to the restructure, Mahomes’ 2026 cap figure was an untenable $78.2 million. By converting $54.4 million of that into a signing bonus, Kansas City instead spread $10.9 million equally across five seasons. (Because the $10.9 million also applies to 2026, the Chiefs cleared $43.5 million in cap space this year; 54.4 minus 10.9.) I apologize for the math. Here’s a visual:
Without restructuring:
- $78.2 million cap hit in 2026
Post-restructure:
- $34.6 million cap hit in 2026
- $10.9 million added to 2027 cap hit
- $10.9 million added to 2028 cap hit
- $10.9 million added to 2029 cap hit
- $10.9 million added to 2030 cap hit
Both sets equate to $78.2 million, but the latter is much friendlier to Kansas City’s 2026 cap table. As for the future years, they’ll bank on the cap continuing to rise and likely continue to do this.
So though Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million contract in 2020, he’s never had a cap hit reflecting that $45 million average. That contract instead allowed for maneuvers like this, giving the Chiefs more flexibility than simply back-loading a big salary would’ve.
As for others who could free up cap space:
The most interesting team might be Detroit, currently $14.6 million over the cap, but with the potential to have the seventh-most space. On that note, I sat down with two of the Lions’ stars during Super Bowl week in San Francisco, which I’ll get to a minute. First, let’s talk free agents.
Free Agency 2026
This one is worth bookmarking. My colleague Daniel Popper scouted hundreds of impending free agents, watching tape and reviewing factors like age, positional value and injury history.
The result: the definitive ranking of this year’s top 150 free agents, along with projected contracts. A couple big names:
- It includes Tyreek Hill, way down at No. 131 amid questions over the 32-year-old’s explosiveness after a serious knee injury. Earlier this week, the Dolphins released Hill alongside edge rusher Bradley Chubb and guard James Daniels to clear over $56 million in 2026 cap space.
- Trey Hendrickson is the top player on the list. Rightfully so. Since the Bengals signed him away from New Orleans in 2021, only Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt have more sacks than the 31-year-old. Everyone needs a pass rusher like Hendrickson, including Cincinnati.
The running back situation is interesting to me, with several young stars unlikely to make top-tier money. Breece Hall, still only 25, is the No. 2 free agent. Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is coming off the best stretch of his career and sits No. 8. Travis Etienne ranks No. 10 after a bounce-back season with Jacksonville.
Their current teams would be wise to keep them, meaning each could be franchise tagged at a projected cost of $14.5 million for one season. But if they reach the open market, Daniel projects their average per-year salary to land well below Saquon Barkley’s position-leading $20.6 million:
For more on the running backs and everybody else — you can sort the list by position or team — read our full top 150 free agency rankings.
Who might be in the market? We’ll see how the salary cap space shakes out, but I’d think the Chiefs consider adding a running back. As for Detroit …
Detroit in SF
For a few years, my home in Canada was 10 minutes from Detroit, a place I’ve always liked. Historic city. Tough city. Dan Campbell. Buddy’s Pizza.
So it was fun to meet with two of the city’s brightest young stars, Jahmyr Gibbs and Aidan Hutchinson, for a quick interview at the Rocket booth in San Francisco. A couple takeaways for you:
- Why are the Lions seemingly always injured? Though Gibbs is rarely hurt beyond “just some bruises and cuts,” he cited their training session speed as a possibility, emphasizing to me how hard the Lions practice. That’s the likely culprit for the 49ers’ injury bug, too.
- In 2025, Hutchinson got most of his 14.5 sacks (fourth-most) by beating opponents off the edge. I asked him about that. He said: 💬 “I really feel like I got to a point that season where I was rushing all three ways, hitting the edge, hitting spin moves, doing power. And I was very productive all three ways, and that’s when you become a dangerous rusher.”
- Detroit weather is the one thing Gibbs can’t stand about the city. On that note, I think shoveling for your neighbors is the best sign of a good neighbor! Rocket’s VP of Sports and Entertainment Doug Buser — who helped organize these interviews — agreed.
Both Gibbs and Hutchinson hope to get the Lions back in the postseason after an underwhelming 9-8 finish outside the playoffs. My colleague Colton Pouncy shared how Detroit can get there.
Extra Points
🔬Fernando Mendoza went from a shaky college quarterback to the projected No. 1 pick. Bruce Feldman explains Mendoza’s remarkable turnaround.
📈 Pre-draft risers. Our consensus top-100 rankings saw Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey, who had 19.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 2025, jump into the top five. A fellow Red Raider, defensive tackle Lee Hunter, is the biggest riser overall, up 11 spots.
📉 Rashee Rice was accused of assault and abuse by the mother of his children in a recent lawsuit. These Rice t-shirts continue to age poorly.
▶️ Monday’s most-clicked: One cut candidate for each team.
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