Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach has been tasked with building out the roster to keep the team competitive every year, while also extending the Super Bowl window. It’s not an easy task and takes a perfect blend of aggressive moves and fiscal responsibility.
The folks at Over The Cap have assembled a nifty positional spending table, which helps lay out the Chiefs’ salary cap allocations at each position. It provides a good idea of just how Kansas City has built its roster around star QB Patrick Mahomes.
Here’s a quick look at the team’s positional spending on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball:
Quarterback: $41.3 million
NFL rank: 1st
This is the big reason why the Chiefs might avoid signing a veteran backup quarterback this year. They’re already spending the most in the NFL on the position thanks to Patrick Mahomes’ contract. Not a single member of the Chiefs Kingdom would have it any other way.
Running back: $6 million
NFL rank: 25th
If it wasn’t for former first-round draft pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire, this group might be dead last in the NFL.
Wide receiver: $18.6 million
NFL rank: 23rd
Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney are still on rookie contracts, but Marquez Valdes-Scantling leads the way for this position group.
Tight end: $19.4 million
NFL rank: 3rd
Travis Kelce deserves every penny of the contract he’s getting and he’s probably still underpaid.
Offensive line: $37.4 million
NFL rank: 20th
Most of the Chiefs’ money on the offensive line is wrapped up in Joe Thuney and new LT Jawaan Taylor. That is poised to change soon with contracts for Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith coming up.
Offense total: $122.8 million
NFL rank: 5th
No surprises here. The Chiefs have invested heavily in the offense, but a lot of that is wrapped up in Mahomes and Kelce.
Interior defensive line: $34.8 million
NFL rank: 5th
Chris Jones plays a big part in this ranking, but there is also something else afoot here. No interior defensive lineman in Kansas City is signed beyond 2023. They don’t benefit from any rookie contracts at all.
Edge rusher: $12.3 million
NFL rank: 25th
The most expensive edge rusher for Kansas City is newly-signed Charles Omenihu. Beyond that, they’ve got a pair of rookie contracts in Mike Danna and George Karlaftis.
Linebacker: $9.2 million
NFL rank: 24th
This linebacker group is cheap because the top players (Bolton, Gay and Chenal) are all on rookie deals. Free agent acquisition Drue Tranquill is the most expensive player at the position.
Cornerback: $8.9 million
NFL rank: 28th
Literally, every cornerback that is on the Chiefs’ roster (outside of Dicaprio Bootle) is on a rookie contract.
Safety: $17.7 million
NFL rank: 12th
The Chiefs have a lot of money tied up in Justin Reid and they just signed Mike Edwards on a one-year deal.
Defense total: $83.1 million
NFL rank: 24th
Outside of Chris Jones, the Chiefs aren’t spending big on the defensive side of the ball right now. Things might have been different had they managed to find a way to keep Frank Clark.
