The AFC West has one of the most interesting crops of quarterbacks the NFL has to offer. Even more interesting is how their deals stack up with each other.
Earlier this week, the Kansas City Chiefs locked up their signal-caller, Patrick Mahomes, for another decade. The Raiders originally extended their quarterback, Derek Carr, back in 2017 after leading the team to a playoff appearance in 2016. Carr’s not slated to become an unrestricted free agent until 2023 under his current deal, per Spotrac. In spite of this, the Silver and Black did add another signal-caller in Marcus Mariota to a bonus-laden contract.
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King of the Mountain in the AFC West
Unsurprisingly, Josh Schrock of NBC Sports ranked Mahomes’ deal as the top one amongst AFC West quarterbacks. Fresh off a Super Bowl victory in which he carried the Chiefs to victory, this was no shocker.
Mahomes probably isn’t making enough money for what he brings to the Chiefs. In all honesty, he gave them a very friendly deal that doesn’t see him have the biggest cap hit for an NFL QB until 2023. He’s worth every penny and probably could have asked for more and gotten it. Just tell me where to sign.
When it came to Carr’s contract with the Silver and Black, Shrock labeled it as “fair” all things considered though many fans might tell you otherwise. If it does indeed turn out Carr’s not the answer after the 2020 season plays out, the Raiders can opt out. The Raiders can cut Carr next spring for just a $2.5 million cap hit. Brady got a two-year $50 million contract and that’s fair market value for an aging GOAT.”
For the Los Angeles Chargers, they obviously have Justin Herbert under a rookie contract. So, it doesn’t figure to affect the franchise nor the division all that much. As far as the Denver Broncos, they have Drew Lock, whose his deal falls under the “jury’s still out” category. Even though Lock showed promise it’s still too early to know if he’s the long-term answer. These next two seasons will be crucial to see what kind of deal Lock ends up getting as Shrock pointed out. “All of these quarterbacks still are on their rookie deals but haven’t yet done enough to warrant getting a massive second deal.”
Depending on what happens over the next two years in the AFC West, the quarterbacks’ group and their corresponding deals might end up looking very different by 2022.
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*Top Photo: Ben Margot/Associated Press