Chiefs Predicted to Make $97 Million Move 'Sooner Rather Than Later'

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Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is hard at work on a few different contract extensions this summer.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a few different draft picks that they’re attempting to lock up long-term, and one of them is star defensive back Trent McDuffie.

On July 1, Arrowhead Pride analyst Rohan Chakravarthi broke down the entire cornerback market around the NFL to come up with a fair contract extension projection for McDuffie. While also reminding that “the cornerback market is only going up, which is why it’d be smart for the Chiefs to act sooner rather than later on a McDuffie deal if they’re confident he’ll be a part of their future long-term.”

The KC writer settled on a three-year, $97 million prediction that would include $80 million in guaranteed money, but there’s more to this projection than meets the eye, considering the former first-round pick is still under contract for the 2025 and 2026 (fifth-year option) seasons.

Trent McDuffie’s $97 Million Contract Prediction With Chiefs Includes $113.24 Million in Total Money

As stated above, this McDuffie projection would really add three years to what is already left of his remaining five-year rookie deal. Chakravarthi explained this within the article.

“Now, there is something important to note with the rookie extensions,” the analyst noted. “[Derek] Stingley did have two years remaining on his rookie deal (fourth year + fifth-year option), so his total compensation is five years for $113 million. That $22.6 million per year is still significant, but sounds a lot more feasible than $30 million per year.”

McDuffie would be in a near-identical situation to Stingley, which Chakravarthi detailed later.

“When considering a McDuffie extension, we should consider the new money and the total compensation with the two years left on his rookie deal,” he wrote.

Continuing: “Currently, McDuffie has a $2.61 million salary for 2025 and a $13.63 million fifth-year option for 2026, totaling $16.24 million over the next two years, according to Spotrac. Remember, Stingley had a total compensation of $113 million for five years.”

In order to beat Stingley and reset the market, McDuffie would have to earn $97 million in new money — which is how Chakravarthi came up with that number. This, plus his current salary totals, would add up to $113.24 million, just above Stingley.

So, technically, McDuffie’s $32.33 million per year in new money would reset the CB market, but if you take into account the two remaining years of his old deal, it’s more like $22.648 million per season.

Why Trent McDuffie Deserves This Contract Extension

Due to an outdated NFL rule, McDuffie’s fifth-year option was actually much cheaper than it probably should have been.

As Chakravarthi mentioned within the article, McDuffie has a “First-Team All-Pro, and a Second-Team All-Pro on his resume.”

Those are typically worth a lot more than a Pro Bowl nod, but for some reason, fifth-year options award draft picks more money for Pro Bowls, not All-Pros. This feels like a rule that will be updated eventually, but for now, it unfairly punishes the rare player who has received All-Pros without Pro Bowls.

McDuffie fits that rare profile of fifth-year option eligible player. So, in essence, the Chiefs would be rewarding those All-Pro honors with this extension, while also correcting a sort of NFL error.

As for why Kansas City appears ready to commit to McDuffie when they didn’t do the same with L’Jarius Sneed, that’s relatively simple.

Since his rookie year injury that kept him out six games, McDuffie has been an iron man. He started 16 games in 2023 and 2024, not to mention 10 playoff games over his three-year career. McDuffie is also only turning 25 years old in September.

Despite being just as versatile as McDuffie, Sneed was older (age 27 at the time of the trade) and had shown more signs of wear and tear. The Chiefs ended up being proven correct immediately after the Sneed trade in 2024, as the veteran only suited up for five games in Tennessee.

Michael Obermuller covers the NFL for Heavy Sports, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. Michael is an NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate. More about Michael Obermuller