The Cincinnati Bengals have hoped that Joe Burrow can carry them to a Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs have done everything in their power to deliver as many championships as possible during his prime.
It's being reported that the Bengals will spend money in free agency to bolster their defense and better complement Burrow. Negligence on that side of the ball and other key roster areas have prevented Cincinnati from making the playoffs the past three years, as Burrow has gotten injured in two of those seasons.
Mahomes is sitting on three Super Bowl wins, but not resting on his laurels. He and the team are working together to rally back from a disastrous 6-11 record that matches Cincy's.
Massive Patrick Mahomes contract restructure underscores minimal lengths Bengals will go to maximize Joe Burrow
OverTheCap.com's Jason Fitzgerald broke the news that Mahomes and the Chiefs restructured his contract to free up — I swear this is not a misprint — almost $44 million in salary cap room this season.
Chiefs restructured Patrick Mahomes' contract to open up just under $44M in cap spacehttps://t.co/zsXARBTQWN
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) February 18, 2026
It needs to be embedded in tweet form to bask in its glory. What a freaking move by Kansas City.
And yes, you can criticize the Chiefs for their poor drafting and recent roster building. But you know what? The Los Angeles Rams bottomed out in 2022 after beating the Bengals in the Super Bowl. They've strung together three double-digit win seasons since, advancing a round further in the postseason each time.
In a pretty bad and wide-open AFC, you really think the Chiefs are gonna stay down for long? The huge restructure of Mahomes' deal proves that isn't his mindset, nor the franchise's vision for 2026.
Mahomes is coming off a torn ACL, yet Kansas City is still pulling out all the stops to try to be competitive. Structuring Mahomes' contract to make creative moves like this in the first place is an extremely savvy move.
I've written before about how the Bengals can free up $45 million in 2026 cap room by restructuring Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. Burrow alone would net them $19.2 million — and they'd still have north of $146 million to work with in 2027.
If the Bengals have restructured a single contract in franchise history, I missed it. Not counting a void year tack-on like Trey Hendrickson's last deal. I mean sacrificing some space in the future to win now.
Mike Brown, the Blackburns, Duke Tobin, and everyone involved in major decisions refuse to do this in Cincinnati. Check back in, oh, 11 months from now and we'll see who won more games between the Chiefs and Bengals.