The Patrick Mahomes 2020 contract vs. Peyton Manning’s 2012 deal

Comparing the contract signed by Peyton Manning in 2012 to the Patrick Mahomes deal if both were signed under the 2020 salary cap.

On Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs signed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a record-breaking contract worth more than $500 million. Yes, $500 million.

Mahomes became the highest-paid player in NFL history.

In 2012, the Denver Broncos signed future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning to a five-year, $96 million deal.

Back in 2012, the NFL salary cap was $120.6 million. In 2020, it is set at a whopping $198.2 million. That is an increase of $77.6 million in just eight years.

Manning’s contract, converting the $96 million into an average annual value of 19.2 million (15.92 percent of the 2012 salary cap) with today’s salary cap of $198.2M would be $157.77 million over five years; or $31.55M per year over five seasons.

Taking that into perspective, it appears that, despite the talents that Mahomes has, it just seems really crazy to go that far into the wallet for really anybody.

The NFL has obviously been a quarterback-friendly league for a while now, with teams transitioning from running the ball a lot to primarily throwing. That makes the value of quarterbacks go way up. But to pay a player who is going into his fourth NFL season a record-breaking deal just seems absolutely crazy.

Despite winning the Super Bowl this year, the Chiefs could find themselves in a bad state within the next five or so years. Will it be worth it for the Chiefs?

I would say that if they are able to win a couple of Super Bowls during this time period, then yes it was worth it. But there are a lot of things that can happen from here on out.

How the Patrick Mahomes deal affects the Broncos

Denver re-structured Manning’s contract in 2015, taking in $15 million instead of $19 million. It is possible that Mahomes eventually does the same thing to help the Chiefs.

Mahomes signing that massive deal, however, puts the Chiefs in some potentially tough spots later down the road. They are unlikely to be able to re-sign their star defensive end Chris Jones to a long-term deal.

That’s their most notable 2021 free agent.

So they are basically putting all of their chips into one player. That is not exactly how to build a team. This could be very bad for the Chiefs and potentially very good for the Broncos in the long-run.

The Broncos still have to see if Drew Lock is who they think he is. With Mahomes setting up the market, Lock may end up playing at MVP-type levels and earn a massive deal that would be near the top of the league.

If that happens, that also could be bad news for some of the star players the team has.

But first, Justin Simmons is going to get his deal. The safety market won’t be as strong as the quarterback market, but it still will have a decent effect on the upcoming states of the salary caps.

Whatever happens, all I know is this: the Broncos are going to have to face the face of the NFL for many more years. It could be scary. It could be fun. It is reality.