{"id":819369,"date":"2026-03-18T15:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/819369\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T15:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:46:20","slug":"chiefs-salary-cap-comes-into-focus-after-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/819369\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiefs\u2019 salary cap comes into focus after free agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

By some estimates, the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> entered this offseason almost $60 million over the league\u2019s salary cap.<\/p>\n

By the time the league\u2019s free agency period began, however, the team had more than sufficient room for aggressive moves.<\/p>\n

Much of the legwork was done via the seemingly annual restructure of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes\u2019 contract, instantly opening almost $44 million in cap space<\/a>. The team also moved off of non-guaranteed salaries to tackle Jawaan Taylor<\/a> and defensive end Mike Danna<\/a>. The two releases combined took almost $29 million off of the books. We also discovered that linebacker Drue Tranquil agreed to a salary reduction<\/a> of over $2 million.<\/p>\n

Kansas City was believed to have little over $20 million in cap room entering free agency. Now that the terms of the team\u2019s major signings are available on the contract website Spotrac<\/a>, we can project the Chiefs\u2019 salary cap situation going forward.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs opened free agency by agreeing to a contract with tight end Travis Kelce<\/a> to return for a 14th season. We now know that the one-year pact for $12 million employs a unique structure<\/a> that makes his cap slightly under $4.9 million this season \u2014 although there will be over $7 million in \u201cdead money\u201d split between the 2027 and 2028 seasons.<\/p>\n

After inking Kelce, the Chiefs have signed four players to multi-year contracts. General manager Brett Veach still clearly favors a flat contract structure \u2014 meaning regardless of salary cap hits, players are actually paid near-identical amounts each season under contract.<\/p>\n

\"Jan<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan 17, 2026; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) carries the ball for a touchdown as San Francisco 49ers safety Marques Sigle (36) defends during the first half in an NFC Divisional Round game at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Kansas City made a massive external move when the clock started on \u201clegal tampering\u201d by signing star running back Kenneth Walker III<\/a> to a three-year contract worth up to $45 million. In 2026, Walker will pair a minimum $1.2 million base salary with a $13 million signing bonus (and a $135,000 workout bonus ) to earn $14.4 million \u2014 while carrying a cap hit of only $5.7 million. He is scheduled to earn the same financial compensation in 2027 and 2028, but the salary cap charges will increase to $18.7 million in the remaining two seasons.<\/p>\n

Walker has no guaranteed money in 2028 and would leave only $4.3 million in dead money if released after the 2027 season. His contract may better be thought of as a two-year agreement for $28.7 million with a $14.4 million option for the third season.<\/p>\n

Two more three-year contracts went to projected defensive starters as defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga signed for $21 million<\/a> ($14 million guaranteed) before safety Alohi Gilman received $24.75 million<\/a> ($14.5 million guaranteed). Tonga\u2019s $7 million annual earnings will see him have a 2026 cap hit of $3.3 million<\/a> that rises to $8.9 million in 2027 and 2028. None of his final season is guaranteed, and he would leave only $1.9 million in dead money if released in 2028.<\/p>\n

Gilman\u2019s breakdown is slightly more complicated. He will earn $15 million over his first two seasons with the Chiefs. In 2028, when he will be 31, Gilman\u2019s earnings would actually increase from $7.5 million to $9 million. That will give the Chiefs an option to decline the contract\u2019s final season (with a potential dead money charge of $2 million). For now, the safety has a cap hit of $3.5 million in 2026<\/a> \u2014 that rises to $9.5 million in 2027 and $11 million in 2028.<\/p>\n

\"KANSAS<\/a><\/p>\n

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – DECEMBER 07: Kamari Lassiter #4 of the Houston Texans breaks up a pass intended for Tyquan Thornton #80 of the Kansas City Chiefs during the third quarter at Arrowhead Stadium on December 07, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

Wide receiver Tyquan Thornton returned to the Chiefs<\/a> on a two-year contract worth $11 million. Although nominally only $7.4 million is guaranteed<\/a>, the structure all but ensures Thornton plays both seasons in Kansas City. $2 million of his 2027 salary is already guaranteed, creating a potential dead cap charge of $4 million in the second season that exceeds the $3.5 million in potential cap savings. Thornton will have a salary cap charge of $3.5 million in 2026 and $7.5 million in 2027.<\/p>\n

Two minor one-year signings will have minimal cap impact. Cornerback Kader Kohou signed in Kansas City<\/a> after missing the 2025 season with a torn ACL. Kohou will earn a fully guaranteed $1.8 million<\/a> in 2026. The Chiefs also signed running back Emari Demercado<\/a> after the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> did not tender him in restricted free agency. He will earn $1.2 million this season<\/a> (with $550,000 guaranteed).<\/p>\n

The Chiefs will also take on $3 million in salary<\/a> to quarterback Justin Fields after executing a trade<\/a> with the New York Jets<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs have continued to essentially allocate their salary cap a year early. With the limit appearing set to increase at least $20 million each year, it is unlikely any of the Chiefs\u2019 recent moves will prove overly financially detrimental in the coming seasons.<\/p>\n

Because of the short lengths, none of the new contracts in Kansas City leave room for substantial cap savings if restructured next offseason. However, it is also unlikely that all of Walker, Tonga, and Gilman will actually play on their non-guaranteed 2028 seasons.<\/p>\n

No new moves for salary cap space have been reported, though that news sometimes breaks slowly. While the financial impact of any further potential signings would be slight, the team\u2019s draft class will require more cap space than Kansas City is accustomed to. More importantly, the draft will be very expensive in actual cash committed, with two first round selections and an early second-round pick expected to receive fully guaranteed four-year contracts. As such, a coming restructure of defensive tackle Chris Jones, defensive end George Karlaftis, guard Trey Smith or center Creed Humphrey would still not be surprising.<\/p>\n

We will look at the cap impact of the draft class in a later piece.<\/p>\n

Accounting for only the required top 51 offseason cap charges, Spotrac estimates the Chiefs to be $8.5 million under the salary cap<\/a>. Their table does not include report re-signings of punter Matt Araiza or guard Mike Caliendo. Assuming minimum base salaries ($1 million for Araiza and $1.1 million for Caliendo), their net impact on the cap would only be a combined $210,000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By some estimates, the Kansas City Chiefs entered this offseason almost $60 million over the league\u2019s salary cap.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":819370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2063],"tags":[346,7,118,110,1193,2438,2437,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-819369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-chiefs","8":"tag-chiefs","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","12":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs-roster","13":"tag-kansascity","14":"tag-kansascitychiefs","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116250963621893804","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}