Are the Chiefs making the same mistake with Mahomes the Packers m

Rodgers only won one Super Bowl and came close several times. In hindsight- had Rodgers had one or two more quality players, how many more Super Bowls might the Packers have won? We will never know. The lesson learned is that when you have a team capable of winning the Super Bowl, you must be less conservative in your cap management. It makes a huge difference.

(The following data comes from OverTheCap)

Compared to the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, the Chiefs are a good comparison illustrating the difference in cap strategy. The Bills had a $210M cap available for active contracts for the 2023 season. The Eagles had $174M, and the Chiefs had $213M.

The total APY value of the Bills contract at the beginning of the season was $289M, the Eagles $277M – the Chiefs’ contracts were $215M. The Bills and Eagles had fifteen players with contracts valued at $5M or more; the Chiefs had eight.

The Bills and Eagles could have more contract value than the Chiefs because of how the Clubs constructed the player contracts. The Bills $289M (APY) in contracts had a cap charge of 72% of APY value or $209M. The Eagle’s $277M (APY) contracts have a cap charge of 61% of the contract value or $169M. The Chiefs’ $215M (APY) contracts had a cap charge of 94% or $201M.

The top paid 15 quarterbacks in the NFL, Mahomes has the highest APY value to cap at 94% or a $37M cap charge. Allen of the Bills $19M, Hurts of the Eagles $6M. Within the division the Chiefs compete in, Herbert is at an $8M cap charge, Garapolo is at $7M, and Wilson is at $22M.

Winning the Super Bowl depends on four factors:

1. The Club’s ability to evaluate player talent.
2. The coaching staff
3. Luck (On the field and lack of significant injuries)
4. Contract manipulation

The Chiefs excel in talent evaluation, coaching, and luck. These factors have overcome their conservative cap strategy. Could they be more successful if they were less traditional in cap management?