The Kansas City Chiefs have spent more guaranteed money on their class of undrafted free agents in 2023 than any other team in the NFL.
OverTheCap’s Nick Korte shared a list on Twitter on Tuesday, featuring the most and least guaranteed money given to 2023 UDFAs by teams. The Chiefs were right at the top with $1.1225M, while the Cincinnati Bengals came in at the bottom with $35K in guarantees spent.
RB Deneric Prince and DE Truman Jones — two of the top-ranked UDFAs signed by Kansas City — both earned $216K in guarantees on their contracts. CB Reese Taylor, CB Kahlef Hailassie, OL Jerome Carvin, LB Cam Jones, WR Nikko Remigio and LB Isaiah Moore all had at least $50K or more in guaranteed money attached to their deals.
Most guaranteed money given to 2023 UDFAs:
1. KC—$1.1225M
2. NYJ—$1.0455M
3. PHI—$918k
4. NO—$845k
5. NYG—$804k
6. ARI—$799k
7. CLE—$705k
8. DAL—$573kLeast:
32. CIN—$35k
31. PIT—$41.5k
30. SEA—$62.5k
29. GB—$80.5k
28. BUF—$104.5k
27. CHI—$107k
26. LAR—$116.5k
25. SF—$130k— Nick Korte (@nickkorte) May 16, 2023
This isn’t exactly a one-off for the Chiefs either. Korte added a follow-up tweet saying that the team has given six-figure guarantees to 19 UDFAs on record, including six total in 2023.
One reason Kansas City is a big spender here — their entire draft class costs less than others given that they’re picking at the end of each round after winning Super Bowl LVII. Brett Veach feels he can go out and spend a bit more there in order to land players that they really like and who they believe will make their roster more competitive.
There is also something to be said about opportunity. A lot of undrafted free agents are sold on the system, the culture and the opportunity to compete. As a Super Bowl-winning roster without a lot of starting jobs up for grabs, this team isn’t as flush with chances as others might be. Some of these players might need some extra motivation in the way of a guaranteed salary or a signing bonus to join a team that it’ll be much more difficult to make when it comes time for roster cuts.
