Patrick Mahomes signed a historic deal earlier this month making him the first half-billionaire quarterback. Hearing he is the first player to reach that level isn’t very surprising. A restructuring comes into play in 2026, and then the bigger money takes over in 2027, starting at $64 million. Like I said, that makes sense. Daniel Jones also got a very handsome contract from the Indianapolis Colts this offseason. There is more to the story, but should the money for Jones and Mahomes be as close as it
is?
Look, I’m not going to pretend to be the contract guy, so let’s go high level. With incentives, Jones could make $50M per year the next two years. That’s a lot of money. Mahomes’ annual salary goes up from $64 million, but let’s start there. Is Mahomes worth $14 million more a year than Jones? To you and me, $14 million is a lot of money. To a professional athlete, it is still significant but not by nearly as much. That is the difference between these two quarterbacks when it comes to dollars and cents. The actual gap seems to be much larger, however.
The length of the deal has a big impact on the money. The longer the deal, the less it becomes per year. A player trades a few dollars for long-term security. That makes sense. Jones could miss out on his second year if things go south. While there may be provisions, Mahomes’ contract runs through 2033. Guaranteed money is always part of the attraction for players, and Jones got $50 million. His gravy train could dry up immediately while Mahomes has more of a guarantee in front of him.
That’s the money part. What about the on the field part? Is the size of this pay gap warranted based on performance? That is a 100% no in my book. Mahomes is a 3x Super Bowl champion, 2x league MVP, is second in playoff wins behind Tom Brady, was fastest to 200 touchdowns, and holds the highest passer rating. I could go on…Ok, I will. He has five AFC Championships, most total yards in a season, and is second all-time in fourth quarter comebacks in the playoffs. Jones has one playoff win, led the Colts to a historic start last year, and put up one of those “first to ever do it in the playoffs” stat lines that don’t hold much substance.
This isn’t to gush on Mahomes or come down on Jones. The facts are simply the facts, though. These two players are worlds apart, but looking at their contracts, you would have no idea. Less than 30% separates their salaries the next year or so, yet the accolades represent a random NFL quarterback and one of the greatest to ever play.
I guess that’s the nature of the beast. Sometimes you have to overpay. Sometimes you have to use short contracts to get to the next stage and overpaying is just an unfortunate consequence of doing business. Anyone in their right mind would never compare these two head-to-head. The money being that close can make you pause. The length of the deal, the nature of the NFL salary cap, and the way things work in the league all led to this. It isn’t Daniel Jones’ fault though. He couldn’t care less about Patrick Mahomes and how big the gap should be. He got his bag, and he is just fine with that.
