Chiefs restructure Patrick Mahomes' contract, lowering 2026 cap hit

Pete Sweeney, The Kansas City Star on Feb 18, 2026

Published in Football

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs have restructured Patrick Mahomes’ current contract, freeing up $43.56 million for the upcoming 2026 season, a source confirmed to The Kansas City Star.

Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald first reported the news.

Before the restructure of Mahomes’ contract, the 30-year-old carried a $78.2 million cap hit for 2026 under the 10-year extension he signed in 2020. By converting $54.45 million into a signing bonus, his 2026 cap hit drops to $34.65 million.

Mahomes is now projected to carry an $85.25 million cap hit for the 2027 season. A problem for another day.

Kansas City entered the offseason roughly $58 million over the cap, so a transaction lowering Mahomes’ massive number always felt inevitable this offseason. Mahomes — who is tied to the Chiefs through 2031 — has worked with the club to create flexibility during the 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025 offseasons.

The Chiefs are still estimated to be somewhere in the range of $11.35 million and $14.4 million over the 2026 cap. That means more moves must be made. Every NFL team must be cap compliant by the start of the new league year on March 11.

Still, this is a significant first step.

The Chiefs’ highest cap hit for 2026 belongs to defensive tackle Chris Jones ($44.85 million), now followed by Mahomes ($34.65 million) and then right tackle Jawaan Taylor ($27.39) million.

Taylor has long been a candidate to be released this offseason, as the move would save Kansas City about $20 million against the cap. Paired with the news of Mahomes’ restructure, the Chiefs have opened up a simple path to compliancy.

This is just the beginning of Kansas City’s cap puzzle as it tries to reload for 2026 and get back to the postseason.