Analyzing Chiefs' Salary-Cap Space After Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes Contracts

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has been hard at work this offseason keeping his team's Super Bowl-winning core together long-term, signing quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce and defensive tackle Chris Jones to multiyear deals.

It's a testament to the team's salary-cap experts that the Chiefs have been able to keep some of their most important pieces together, as ESPN's Field Yates noted.

"Back on March 30th, the Chiefs had exactly $171—yes $171—in salary cap space," Yates wrote. "Since then, they've signed Patrick Mahomes to a record-setting 10-year extension and Travis Kelce and Chris Jones to huge 4-year extensions. Cap gurus Brandt Tilis and Chris Shea have worked magic."

Per Over the Cap, the Chiefs had $13,921,310 in 2020 cap space Thursday. That figure includes terms for Mahomes' deal: a 10-year, $450 million contract extension.

The Chiefs' cap number is currently listed at $14,761,489 for 2021.

The Kelce deal, which amounts to a four-year, $57 million extension, kicks in for 2022. His cap number for 2020 sat at $11,218,400 and $9,000,000 for 2021.

The contract structuring of the deals has helped the Chiefs navigate the cap.

For example, Mahomes' cap number is just $5,346,538 in 2020. The kicker is that the Chiefs' cap will take a hit down the line, as the 2027 cap number sits at $59,950,000, for example.

But in the near term, Mahomes' figure is manageable enough for the team to make moves.

The Chiefs also have a few larger deals coming off the books after 2021, including offensive tackle Eric Fisher and safety Tyrann Mathieu, although it's certainly possible the Chiefs attempt to re-sign the Super Bowl-winning talents whose contracts run out at that time.

Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap offered analysis on the Chiefs' move with an eye toward the future.

"Kelce was on the books for the Chiefs at $11.2 million in 2020 and $9 million in 2021," Fitzgerald wrote. "When talking about how did the team manipulate the cap to do it you really want to look at the impact in 2022 and 2023 to see if it can or cant hurt. The immediate impact on the cap is usually beneficial."

It's certainly beneficial for the Chiefs in the near future as the team returns much of its talent from the Super Bowl LIV-winning franchise that cruised to its second-ever championship win after outscoring their three playoff opponents 117-75.