Stephen A. Smith Demands Chiefs to Break the Bank for Patrick Mahomes After Trevor Lawrence’s $55M Deal

Trevor Lawrence getting a massive contract is perhaps the most alarming thing that happened in the league in the past couple of days. After signing a 5-year $275 million extension, he’s come next to Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson in terms of highest-paid QBs in the league, making about $55 million a year. But where does that leave Patrick Mahomes?

The Kansas City Chiefs star signed a 10-year $450 million extension in 2020. Even after winning the Super Bowl three times, he still isn’t making what non-Super Bowl-winning QBs like Burrow, Lamar, and now Lawrence are making. While the whole media industry is busy talking about the Jacksonville Jaguars QB, Stephen A. Smith stepped up to root for Patrick Mahomes.

The veteran broadcaster reacted to Trevor Lawrence’s huge payday. He thinks that the $4.3 billion team should break the bank and make Mahomes the highest-paid QB. And rightfully so. Lawrence is far from being considered the best QB in the NFL by the standards of many NFL analysts. Nevertheless, the sun has shone on the 24-year-old.

“First things first, Kansas City Chiefs, get on the phone now, call Patrick Mahomes’ agent and basically say to him, ‘we’re just waiting until the dust settles, until we’ll make sure to make you the highest paid player in the National Football League. Let’s get that out the way right now. Ain’t nobody, nobody deserves to be paid more than Patrick Mahomes,” said Smith favoring the Kansas City QB.

The Jaguars QB has proved his prowess on the field. He had 4,016 yards and 21 touchdowns last season and had a passer rating of 88.5 last season. Also, for the past two seasons, Lawrence has been putting up 4,000+ yard seasons. In 2022, Lawrence took the Jaguars to the AFC Wild card game against the LA Chargers. They won that contest 31-30. However, Patrick Mahomes took it upon himself to eliminate the Jags in the AFC Divisional game.

The 24-year-old didn’t perform to his fullest capabilities last season and missed out on the playoffs due to some injury concerns. Lawrence’s new deal doesn’t emerge as a topic of contention. It’s just the massive outlay of the team to make him one of the highest players in NFL history that has attracted brickbats. Nevertheless, the comparisons between Mahomes and Lawrence become moot when you consider the principles that guide both teams.

Patrick Mahomes prioritizes his team first

That’s correct. Mahomes’ contract is very team-friendly, which has allowed him to retain the key players around him over the years. Players like Travis Kelce and Chris Jones have an enormous impact on the team. Moreover, the Chiefs have been able to keep them around because of Mahomes’ team-friendly deal.

The 3x Super Bowl winner’s contract with the Chiefs is malleable. It allows the Chiefs to convert his roster bonus into a signing bonus. In doing so, the Kansas City Chiefs saved $21.9 million in cap space this off-season. It also allowed the team to sign Chris Jones to a 5-year $158.75 million extension, and Travis Kelce to a 2-year $34.25 million extension, making him the highest-paid TE.

This emerges as the secret ingredient of the recipe for Kansas City Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl wins, apart from the hard work that the team puts in on a daily. The Chiefs also signed Andy Reid, Brett Veach, and Mark Donovan this year. This off-season, they signed receivers like Xavier Worthy, and Marquise Brown to the roster, further acquiring some depth in the offense. Hence, the sticking point between the salaries of Lawrence and Mahomes doesn’t reflect the full picture. Nevertheless, what do you make of Smith’s passionate demand? Let us know in the comments section below.