The Kansas City Chiefs have one more day to sign star guard Trey Smith to a contract extension. Assuming a deal cannot be reached, Smith will spend the 2025 season playing on the franchise tag. While this timeline prevents Kansas City from extending him during the 2025 season, they can still extend him after the season.

In a recent article, Bleacher Report‘s Gary Davenport projected contracts for eight major impending free agents, including Trey Smith. Per Davenport’s projections, Smith will reset the guard market with a massive four-year, $88 million deal with $54.5 million guaranteed.

“Among guards with long-term deals, Landon Dickerson of the Philadelphia Eagles sits atop the league in average annual salary at $21 million a season,” Davenport writes. “Expect Smith to get a slightly beefier deal.”

Trey Smith’s Projected Contract Revealed, Will Reset Guard Market

Can the Chiefs Afford This?

The Kansas City Chiefs have one of the best rosters in football, and the NFL’s strict salary cap means the team can’t afford to retain all of their high-priced talent. The Chiefs traded Joe Thuney to clear enough money to keep Trey Smith in the short term, but do they have the long-term financial capacity to hand out this type of contract?

While it is possible, it won’t be easy. According to OverTheCap, the Kansas City Chiefs are currently projected to be $37.2 million over the allotted salary cap in 2026. While they can restructure their way to cap compliance, they’ll need to clear up enough cap space to sign Smith and add complementary free agents.

The good news is that, outside of Trey Smith, they don’t have too many other big-name impending free agents. Jaylen Watson had a great season last year and should earn a large paycheck if he can build on his efforts, but he’s the only other player due for a massive raise.

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