Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is widely recognized as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, but his paycheck did not reflect it for years.

During the recent Pat McAfee show, McAfee discussed the QB market changing with Mahomes' deal extension, making him the highest-paid NFL player, with a contract worth $504.75M.

“Everybody else around this particular player, who's already being talked about as a GOAT, was getting paid more money than him,” McAfee said on June 11. “Because he signed a long-term deal early in his career to do the salary cap gymnastics to help out the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs. "

Pat McAfee claims that while Mahomes continued landing championships, QBs like the Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott and the Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence surpassed him in annual salary.

"All these other quarterbacks start making a lot more than him on average per year," McAfee said. "And everybody outside of the Chiefs was talking like - Mahomes has got to be pissed at some point. No offense - Trevor Lawrence making more, like a lot more. Dak (Prescott) is making a lot more. Jordan Love - maybe even Kirk Cousins at one point.”

According to Spotrac, Mahomes sits at the top of the list of the highest-paid QBs in the league right now. Dak Prescott sits second with $60 million per year. Then, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, and Jordan Love sit at the third spot with $55 million per year.

All these QBs received their extensions way before Mahomes did, and among all of them, it's just the Chiefs QB who has won the most amount of Super Bowls in his nine years of an NFL career.

Specifically comparing him with Dak Prescott, Mahomes has far more accolades than the Cowboys' quarterback. Prescott has led the Cowboys to the playoffs just five times throughout his 10-year career.

Meanwhile, Mahomes has made the postseason every single year since becoming a starter in 2018, except last season.

Mahomes previously signed a ten-year extension worth $477M in 2020, with an average annual salary of $47.7M.

He agreed to a massive, restructured deal with the Chiefs totaling $504.75 million over eight years. The contract features $397 million in total guarantees and elevates his average annual value to a record-breaking $63.1 million in new money.

McAfee argued that a salary adjustment for Mahomes was long overdue, as the Chiefs' star has already built a resume worthy of a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction. Yet, he was still underpaid annually compared to his counterparts across the league.

That reputation continues to hold weight across the league, as Mahomes was recently ranked among the NFL's top five quarterbacks entering the 2026 season.

Patrick Mahomes Secures Top-Five Spot In Latest QB Rankings

According to Cameron Willey of Stadium Rant, Mahomes is ranked at No. 5 in his recent 2026 NFL QB Rankings, considering the status of QBs based on injury updates and last year's performances.

"Patrick Mahomes wasn't exactly playing Superman before he tore his ACL and LCL in Week 15 last year," Willey noted. "He's been in OTAs and is throwing and jogging with a brace. A return in Week 1 isn't entirely out of the question."

Mahomes completed 315 of 502 pass attempts for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions in 2025.

After a season-ending injury, the Chiefs and Mahomes are targeting a return for Week 1 of the 2026 season, which begins on September 14, against the Denver Broncos. 

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Written by

Archana Ramakrishnan

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore