Trevor Lawrence changed the game after signing a 5-year $275 million extension that will run through the 2030 season. Now that Lawrence is tied to Joe Burrow in what he’s earning, other QBs around the league are looking at the piece of paper they were handed when they signed an extension with their respective teams. In that conversation, Patrick Mahomes is relevant.

The QB signed a 10-year $450 million extension in 2020, but his contract comes with a catch. To save the cap hit, the Chiefs have actively adjusted his contract and paid him a signing bonus to accommodate other players. However, his contract has given enough wiggle room for the Kansas City Chiefs to extend Chris Jones and Travis Kelce for the future. It’s well known that the 3x Super Bowl winner is the Tom Brady approach to missing out on some money to keep his teammates happy.

In the past, the QB expressed his desire to get more championship rings and didn’t want to “hurt this team.” “I worry about (my) legacy & winning rings than making money at this point. I’ll never do anything that’ll hurt this team. You want to keep the bar pushing. It’s not about being the highest-paid guy.” Mahomes indeed, isn’t the highest-paid guy in the league.

However, there’s a catch in Patrick Mahomes’ deal with the Chiefs when it is compared to that of Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. According to Spotrac, Mahomes’ deal gave him about $63.03 million guaranteed at signing, while Lawrence got $142 million for the same, hence there is a huge gap of $78.9 million that the Chiefs QB is lacking.

Per Spotrac, Joe Burrow has 24.4% of the average salary of the NFL salary cap at signing. This is followed by Josh Allen at 23.5%, Justin Herbert at 23.3%, Lamar Jackson at 23.1%, and Patrick Mahomes at 22.7%. But what Patrick Mahomes loses out in salary, he makes it back with countless sponsorships, TV ads, and even his ventures like his golfing line with Adidas, and others like Head & Shoulders, Oakley, and the infamous State Farm.

Hence, Mahomes knows when and what to compromise on.

How did Patrick Mahomes save the Kansas City Chiefs from getting backed into a corner?

In all its simplicity, the Kansas City Chiefs converted Mahomes’ roster bonus to a signing bonus, which freed up $21.9 million in cap space. It happened this year when the league year kicked in this March. It came to a point that the Chiefs had $5.65 million above cap space even after giving Chris Jones his 5-year, $158.75 million extension with $60 million in guarantees.

Only recently, the KC team extended Travis Kelce to a 2-year tenure worth $34.25 extension with $17 million fully guaranteed. Not only did it make Kelce the highest-paid TE in the league, but it also secured Mahomes’ chances of winning another Super Bowl. Apart from Kelce, Chris Jones has been a huge part of the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense after recording 10.5 sacks and 20 solo tackles last year. If it weren’t for him, the team’s chances of making it to SB would be a bit dull.

But that’s not all, Mahomes and the Chiefs did it last year as well, and transferring the roster bonus into a signing bonus isn’t something new for the QB and his squad. The Kansas City Chiefs have a tough schedule ahead, with 9 out of their last 15 games on the road, hence, it’s important to keep everyone happy. And even more important to keep the core personnel around.