Where is the Chiefs’ salary cap after Joe Thuney’s signature

Hours after the NFL’s legal adulteration period started on Monday, the Kansas City Chiefs made a big move: signed former New England Patriots playmaker Joe Thuney for a $ 80 five-year contract millions.

Initial reports said the deal had a guaranteed $ 32.5 million during the first two years of the contract, with the third year fully guaranteed just after the start of the 2022 league year – meaning that, in practice, $ 48 million would be guaranteed during the first three years of the deal.

This suggested that Thuney’s contract – like other recent deals negotiated by Chiefs general manager Brett Veach – was a “pay-as-you-go” agreement that would leave the Chiefs with a solid “exit” after the third season (one thing good) because it would not bring any dead money from a signing bonus in the fourth and fifth years of the deal (another good thing). But in 2021, with no limits, it would have something around a limit of US $ 16 million (a bad thing).

Did Veach just spend almost half of the team’s $ 33.8 million in cap space?

But by late Monday afternoon, the image was clearer – and much more pleasant.

As you can see, this is structured much more like a traditional NFL contract, in which a subscription bonus is prorated over the life of the business. This allows the contract to count only $ 4.5 million against the limit in 2021. In addition, according to the Top-51 rules – according to which Thuney’s success replaces the 51st highest contract – its immediate impact is only $ 3.8 million.

So, if you were thinking that this deal is going to stop the Chiefs from making other free agent deals this season … it’s absolutely will not. Chefs still have $ 30 million to work.

But this agreement differs from a traditional signing bonus contract in a significant way. Instead of increasing the guaranteed money by giving Thuney a bigger signing bonus, the Chiefs chose to guarantee the first two years of the contract – and after one year, guarantee the third.

This allowed them to give Thuney a $ 17 million signing bonus, which is 21% of the total contract value. Compare that to Dak Prescott’s recent deal with the Dallas Cowboys, in which he received a signing bonus of 41% of the value. Although Thuney’s contract has dead money after the third year, it will be very manageable (by 2024 standards) $ 6.8 million. In contrast, Prescott’s will have $ 26.4 million.

Obviously, there is a risk inherent in the full guarantee of the first two seasons. But if there is a situation in which that risk is minimized, this is it. Thuney started 16 games in all five seasons he played in New England, playing at a high level in each. And the Chiefs will have a year to decide whether they want to secure a third season.

And yes … this business represents a lot of money for an offensive guard. But playing under the franchise brand in 2020, Thuney won $ 14.8 million. So while the Chiefs may have paid a little more than Thuney is worth at the moment, their 2022 cap is projected very close to what the brand now plans to be – and in the last years of the deal, it will probably be a bargain.

We must also remember that Thuney is very smart – and in trouble, he is able to play each position on the line. This is exactly the type of offensive striker that coach Andy Reid likes to have. Therefore, we should not be surprised that the Chiefs did this on the first afternoon of the period of legal adulteration; it is quite obvious that this was an agreement that Kansas City really wanted to make.

And now … they did it. Next case, please.