There has been a lot of talk about the Patriots' 2026 offseason and how the organization needs to take advantage of their last season with Drake Maye on his rookie contract because once they sign him to an extension, it will be much tougher to get the caliber of talent in the door.
We've seen that be the case for teams with elite quarterbacks around the league, as every year another sets the market with their new contract. That's expected to be the case when Maye presumably receives an extension next year, which has drawn some concern.
However, the Chiefs just proved that you can have your superstar quarterback on a massive contract and still make the moves needed to put the roster in a good position. They have already won a Super Bowl since Mahomes was re-signed, so this latest move provides a sign of relief for those in New England.
The Chiefs prove the Patriots can handle a massive contract extension for Drake Maye without breaking down the team
Kansas City was inevitably going to sign Mahomes to one of the wealthiest contracts in NFL history, and they've had to make some restructures to ensure he still gets paid, but the team has the cap space to improve their roster.
Just last week, they made their latest alterations to the quarterback's contract because he was set to be on the books for a $78.2 million cap hit in the 2026 season. The restructure now brings that number to $34.65 million, creating a whopping $43.56 million in cap space.
No matter what team you are, but especially if you're a top contender like the Chiefs, it's crucial that you have a team of productive players at key positions, while also ensuring that their contracts don't become an issue to upgrade the rest of the team.
That has been a major concern across New England with Maye's extension looming, but they now have the blueprint to keep their Super Bowl window open.
They will, however, need to address the situation later, because, basically, what the Chiefs are doing is just kicking the can down the road and saying they'll deal with the massive cap hits in later seasons. That helps right now, but means they'll have more work to do later, if it's even possible, to create more cap space in a few years.
That might not be as big of an issue, though, since the salary cap increases massively every year, so some of the biggest hits to the wallet right now won't necessarily feel as brutal in a few years.
The good thing is that it's not something the Patriots will have to deal with for quite some time, and hopefully, by the time they do, it won't be as big a concern as it appears to have been for the Chiefs this offseason.