Following a 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs now have their eyes on the 2025 NFL season. But first, they have a minor problem to solve before free agency begins on March 12, and it could involve Patrick Mahomes.
A few weeks after the Eagles’ win, the NFL announced that they had agreed on a $279.2 million salary cap per team for the 2025 season, an increase of $23.8 million from 2024.
After franchise tagging guard Trey Smith, the Chiefs’ active salary is sitting at $298,122,531, per Over the Cap. That leaves them roughly $17.9 million above the cap. Before Kansas City starts addressing some needs in the upcoming free agency, they need to get below the cap number.
With just over a week remaining until free agency begins, the Chiefs should start making a few moves to get them at or below $279.2 million soon. And if they fail to get below the salary cap by March 12, the NFL could punish Kansas City by either fining it up to seven figures or even taking away draft picks.
Prior to the 2020 NFL season, the Chiefs signed Mahomes to a massive 10-year, $450 million contract through the 2031 season. Despite a $37 million salary hit in 2024, Mahomes’ cap hit is supposed to take a huge jump to $66.26 million in 2025.
Similar to what it did last offseason, Kansas City is expected to restructure Mahomes’ contract, which could be the only move needed to get them below the cap. In 2024, the Chiefs created $21.6 million by restructuring Mahomes’ deal.
With another restructure this year, the Chiefs could save as much as $39 million. But they likely won’t go that route to keep Mahomes’ contract flexible in the future.
But restructuring Mahomes’ contract isn’t the only way Kansas City can get below the cap. There are also a few other players’ contracts the Chiefs could restructure to get them where they need to be, including defensive tackle Chris Jones and offensive linemen Joe Thuney and Jawaan Taylor.
Although he has announced he will be returning in 2025, had tight end Travis Kelce retired, it would have saved the Chiefs $17 million.
