NFL.com's Ian Rapoport: Patrick Mahomes Waiting For Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert Contracts To Ask Chiefs For More Money

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes just won the second Super Bowl of his career. He also won his second MVP award. Mahomes turns 28-years-old this season and is in the prime of his career.

He's the best player at the most important position in sports. But, the Kansas City Chiefs don't pay him like it. In fact, Mahomes ranks seventh in the NFL in terms of average annual contract value ($45 million).

Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson signed new contracts this offseason. Both eclipse $50 million on a per-year basis, joining Aaron Rodgers in that illustrious club.

Mahomes' deal includes the most total money: $450 million. But he also signed a ten-year contract in 2020. The next-longest quarterback contract is just six years (Buffalo's Josh Allen).

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes fired up the crowd on stage in front of Union Station during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVII victory parade. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

That's because signing bonuses can only be spread out over five years, so it doesn't make sense to do deals much beyond that.

But as NFL insider Ian Rapoport points out, Patrick Mahomes signed his deal at the worst possible time.

"He did a deal during COVID, like when no one had any money," Rapoport said on Pat McAfee's show. "The way that it's structured is the way they could do it at the time.

"Nobody was making money. That free agency, right when COVID was happening was dead. No one was making any money."

Currently, Mahomes is locked into his deal through 2031. But after seeing the contracts that Hurts and Jackson got, clearly Mahomes is worth more than his current contract.

Rapoport thinks it makes the most sense to see how the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers handle their franchise quarterbacks, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, before going to the Chiefs to restructure.

Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs meet on the field after the AFC Championship Game. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

"Herbert needs a deal and Burrow needs a deal," Rapoport said. "It would make more sense to me if let those deals happen and then came over the top."

Then, Rapoport screwed up which quarterback is the highest-paid in the NFL. He says Jalen Hurts before the McAfee staff corrects him that it's Lamar Jackson.

"What's this guy's deal?" McAfee sarcastically asks. The moment is funny, but the point Rapoport makes about Mahomes is sound.

Most NFL teams are waiting to see what the Bengals and Chargers do. Interestingly, both organizations are notoriously cheap.

But the market is set and Burrow -- especially -- and Herbert are going to want more than Jackson and Hurts. And, frankly, they -- Burrow especially -- deserve it.

After those contracts settle, the next dominoes can fall.

We shall see if Mahomes is one of them.