ST. JOSEPH, Mo — Chiefs first-round draft pick Patrick Mahomes inked his rookie contract Friday and celebrated the way many Kansas Citians do — taking his mom and his agent out for barbecue, his first taste of the city’s finest delicacy.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the No. 10 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, talks about his new contract after the team’s first training camp workout in St. Joseph, Mo., on July 25, 2017. (Photo by Matt Derrick, ChiefsDigest.com)
“I went to Jack Stack’s,” Mahomes said. “It was actually really good.”
The rookie’s four-year, $16.4 million fully guaranteed contract includes a $10.1 million signing bonus, according to OvertheCap.com. The Chiefs hold a fifth-year option on Mahomes for the 2021 season.
Mahomes earns a base salary of $465,000 in 2017, accounting for a $2.987 million salary cap charge this season.
The Chiefs now have a total of $9.874 million in available cap space accounting for the Mahomes contract, according to the NFLPA salary cap report.
Negotiations with Mahomes took on a different flavor after the departure of John Dorsey, the general manager who engineered the trade to land the rookie with the No. 10 pick in the draft.
Club chairman and CEO kept in touch with Leigh Steinberg, the agent for Mahomes, following Dorsey’s dismissal. Newly minted Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and Brandt Tillis, the club’s director of football administration, finalized the deal last week.
Mahomes does not necessarily think the staff shakeup led to any delay in finalizing his contract.
“I think my agents and Mr. Hunt, they had a good communication the whole way,” Mahomes said.
Holding out and missing any time in training never factored in the process, he said.
“I knew that the contract was going to get done,” Mahomes said. “I wanted to be in camp on time. I didn’t want to miss any reps. I wanted to be here. I’m just glad it got done and we can just play football now.”
Veach first met Mahomes during the rookie’s pre-draft visit to the team’s training facility in March. The quarterback found himself immediately impressed by young executive.
“He’s a super intelligent guy,” Mahomes said. “But he has high energy. I really love that — a guy that really loves football and loves the Chiefs.”
Mahomes spent time with his family as well as working out on his own during the break between offseason workouts and the opening of camp.
“Working with coach (Mike) Kafka, he could just see the improvements that I stayed with and didn’t love anything,” Mahomes said. “Just trying to keep building on that and just keep building and building until the season comes.”
Mahomes plans to start a charitable foundation in the near future to support programs connected with Whitehouse High School and Texas Tech, both former schools, as well as in the Kansas City area.
The rookie quarterback also signed marketing contracts with Panini America Trading Cards and Adidas apparel.
With the financial deals behind him, Mahomes wants to focus on nothing but football in his rookie season.
“I always talk about just trying to get better every single day,” Mahomes said. “I’m going to come out there and work as hard as I can. Get mental reps, get physical reps, whatever I can do to get better every single day.”
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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