CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The Kansas City Chiefs finished 2025 with a losing record, but their sustained success over the past decade has kept them among the NFL’s most consistent franchises. During that span, Kansas City has won nine division titles, reached five Super Bowls and captured three championships.
This week, the Chiefs restructured quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ contract, moving from roughly $50 million over the projected salary cap to about $11 million under. The team converted $44.05 million of Mahomes’ 2026 base salary and a $10.4 million roster bonus into a fully guaranteed $54 million roster bonus. The move reduced his 2026 cap hit from $78.214 million to $34.65 million by prorating the bonus over the remaining six years of his deal.
Of course the move makes his cap hit bigger in each of the final five years of his contract, but this isn’t the first time the Chiefs have restructured his contract and probably won’t be the last. Will they eventually pay the price in salary cap hell? Maybe, but who knows how far the cap will continue to rise in future years.
The move raises questions about whether the Cincinnati Bengals could consider a similar approach with quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow signed a five-year, $275 million contract extension in September 2023 that included a $40 million signing bonus and $219 million guaranteed. His 2026 cap hit is scheduled to be $47.99 million.
Estimates from The Athletic’s offseason roster exercise suggest a potential savings of about $12 million if Burrow’s deal were restructured. While Spotrac lists the Bengals with roughly $52 million in cap space, that figure drops closer to $40 million when accounting for draft picks, in-season expenses and bonuses.
While Spotrac.com has the Bengals listed with $52 million in cap space available this offseason, that figure is closer to $40 million when factoring in the $10 million to $15 million allotted for signing draft picks, in-season injury replacements, practice squad salaries and performance-based bonuses.
It’s still a very good figure to take to the open market, but what if you added another $12 million with a Burrow restructure? I performed TheAthletic.com roster exercise both without a Burrow restructure and with one, and did far more to add to the roster with a restructure.
A restructure could provide additional flexibility in free agency, though it would push cap obligations into future years. Bengals management has historically avoided shifting significant salary cap charges forward.
Cincinnati has reached the playoffs twice in the past 10 seasons, including one Super Bowl appearance. Kansas City has reached the postseason nine times in that span.
Whether the Bengals consider a restructuring similar to the Chiefs’ approach remains to be seen as the team evaluates options to strengthen its roster.