The Kansas City Chiefs have seemingly done the impossible. Having been $55 million over the cap space, in a single move, they've slashed it down. And it's all thanks to their star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

In a Wednesday X post, Adam Schefter wrote about the development and the ensuing salary cap space.

“The Kansas City Chiefs restructured Patrick Mahomes’ contract this week, lowering his salary cap number from $78.2 to $34.65 million for the upcoming season and creating $43.56 million in salary cap space, as @Jason_OTC reported,” Schefter wrote. 

According to Over the Cap, the management created cap room for the Chiefs by converting $44.04 million of Mahomes' 2026 salary into a roster bonus. If Mahomes gets injured and is moved to the injured reserve, he will not earn the bonus. However, this means that Mahomes will carry a cap hit of $85.25 million for 2027.

This won't be the first time the Chiefs have restructured Mahomes’ contract. In fact, it's the fourth consecutive time. And Mahomes seems on board and willing to take this hit after signing a 10-year extension in 2020 worth $450 million. It was the costliest one at that time. 

More importantly, this opens the door for the Chiefs to bring in new players.

The Chiefs Can Add A Few Players to Bolster the Offense

The 2025 season showed that the offense still has holes, even with players like Mahomes on the squad. Most importantly, the Chiefs need running backs in their squad. With Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt set to be free agents after a lackluster season, the Chiefs can bring in a new star like Kenneth Walker and save their draft pick to reinforce the defense.

The Chiefs can also bring in a tight end replacement in case Travis Kelce decides to retire after this season. One option on the table is Bucs' Cade Otton.

What do you think of this restructure? Comment your thoughts.

Read more at the Kansas City Chiefs Community!

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar