With a need for more spending money, Kansas City is heading to Bank of Mahomes this offseason.

As the Kansas City Chiefs’ offseason unfolds, general manager Brett Veach and his staff are getting creative with salary cap space. This time, quarterback Patrick Mahomes provides the assist.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Kansas City Chiefs are modifying Mahomes’ deal. In the process, they will receive $21.6 million in cap relief. 

Prior to the restructuring, Mahomes had a base salary of $9.85 million for the 2024 season. That total included a $12.86 million prorated signing bonus, a $34.9 million roster bonus, and a $58.6 million cap number. Last year, Kansas City “restructured his agreement” by increasing Mahomes’ monetary compensation for the 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons. According to Spotrac, $27 million of Mahomes’ 2024 roster bonus has been converted into a signing bonus.

In September, I reported about the updated Mahomes deal on Arrowhead Report and the benefits it gave for both parties:

Overall, the Chiefs congratulate their great quarterback. However, it also has a significant benefit for the team. For Mahomes, he is getting more money upfront, and the original expectation that he will be Chief for many years remains. (Both sides may simply negotiate a new extension in 2026.) For Kansas City, moving the roster bonus deadline back a few months allows for more clarity and flexibility in offseason decision-making. Veach and his staff have been innovative in their contract structures recently, as evidenced by defensive tackle Chris Jones’ agreement, and this is yet another example.

Prior to the announcement of Mahomes’ restructuring, predictions for Kansas City’s available cap space differed. While a few expert guesses suggested the team would be fine by the start of the new league year on Wednesday, not everyone agreed. Salary cap websites such as OverTheCap (and Spotrac) put the Chiefs in the deficit. With this increased salary room, the back-to-back champions no longer appear to be concerned about the Wednesday 4:00 p.m. ET deadline.