The Chiefs will significantly increase the center market. They have a deal with the outstanding snapper Creed Humphreysaid Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The conditions are quite remarkable.
Humphrey has agreed to a four-year deal worth $72 million, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. That makes the fourth-year blocker by far the highest-paid center in the NFL. As of Thursday, the NFL’s cap for centers was $13.5 million per year. Humphrey will increase that to $18 million, and Schefter adds that this deal includes $50 million guaranteed. In a deal that ties the 25-year-old center to the Chiefs through 2028, the guaranteed amount is also significantly higher than any other snapper.
This deal puts Humphrey closer to the guard’s ceiling than the mid-market. Today, Frank RagnowThe four-year, $54 million deal was the top-of-the-line deal on the market. The Lions blocker’s $42 million guarantee was the only center guarantee above $34 million. After three promising seasons, Humphrey got the Chiefs to set a new level in center contracts, convincing the former second-round pick to forgo a shot at free agency in 2025.
A contract extension with Humphrey has been on Kansas City’s radar for some time, as both he and the groundbreaking right guard Trey Smith eligible for new contracts in 2024. Smith remains tied to his rookie contract and Humphreys’ salary will impact whether the Chiefs can keep their other standout interior blocker. Joe Thuney remains on a top guard contract (five years, $80 million; the All-Pro LG’s contract runs through the 2025 season).
The Chiefs did not see a high-priced right tackle Jawaan Taylor in the first year of his contract, which puts his long-term future in Missouri in question. The two-time reigning champions are also changing the left tackle position and are not re-signing the 2023 starter Donovan Smith. On the interior, however, the Chiefs may have the NFL’s best trio. According to ESPN’s pass block win rate metric, Thuney, Humphrey and Smith ranked first, second and fourth among interior O-linemen last season. This group played a key role in keeping the Chiefs on track during an unusually rocky season on offense.
Pro Football Focus has rated Humphrey as top-notch in all three seasons, ranking him No. 1 among centers in 2021 and 2022 and No. 4 last season. PFF deemed Humphrey’s performance in the run game last season better than his pass-blocking skills. It’s clear the Chiefs share the Oklahoma alumnus’ position, as this contract was obviously necessary to convince Humphrey – an unrealistic candidate for a 2025 franchise tag since all O-linemen will be consolidated under one roof – to forgo a move to free agency. Humphrey, who has never missed a game, is a two-time Pro Bowler; Jason KelceThe retirement also clears the way for other centers to receive first-team All-Pro honors.
The Chiefs had kept costs low in the center, not only in the Patrick Mahomes era, but the Alex Smith years. Kansas City has not re-signed the four-year starter Mitch Morse in 2019 and mainly used Austin Rider at the pivot in 2020. The Buccaneers’ victory in Super Bowl LV prompted GM Brett Veach to fundamentally overhaul the line, and Humphrey, Smith and Orlando Brown Jr. Brown’s decision to reject a six-year contract extension offer from the Chiefs at the franchise tag deadline in July 2022 helps make this Humphrey contract possible.
Thursday night’s agreement is the Chiefs’ first step toward their strong 2021 draft class. The team also added: Nick Bolton in the second round this year. The off-ball linebacker is a candidate for a contract extension alongside Smith. It will also be interesting to see how the Chiefs move on with Thuney after 2024, as his contract contains no guarantees. Resolving Thuney’s contract would open the door for a payment to Smith. Taylor’s contract pays off his guarantees in 2024, giving the NFL’s top franchise of the 2020s some flexibility in determining its O-line future.
