1) Mahomes deal could have ripple effect. Wednesday’s news of a historic contract extension for Patrick Mahomes likely tethers the quarterback and the Chiefs together for many years to come and could keep him a Chief for life. Mahomes is now under contract for the next eight seasons, through his age-38 year in 2033.
It’s not shocking that we arrived here. This is the perfect marriage of city and athlete. But it’s also a strong indicator that the Chiefs have no fears about Mahomes’ health coming off a torn ACL. Tom Brady suffered a similar injury at roughly the same stage of his career, and he went on to play 14 more years after that.
Major contracts such as Mahomes’ don’t just affect the athlete, his agent and team. It also has a league-wide effect, especially at such a premium position as quarterback.
I can imagine Lamar Jackson and other elite quarterbacks who are extension-eligible perked up a bit when the Mahomes news rolled in. It has a direct effect on Jackson and others, even if each of their individual situations may differ somewhat.
Even though Jackson has two years left on his deal, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in January that he wanted to get an extension done with Jackson prior to the new league year, which started in March. We’ve missed that first marker and are about six weeks from the start of training camps.
While there’s still time to get a deal done before games begin, Jackson could play this coming season and try to cash in — for more money — next offseason. He’s coming off a tough year, plagued by injuries and a weaker Ravens team in general than we’re used to seeing.
If Jackson can have one of his better seasons under new head coach Jesse Minter, there should be nothing stopping the Ravens from opening the vault again for him. Jackson said the new offensive system was different from what he was used to but called it “mind-blowing” recently, so he appears to be happy.
