Who Has The Leverage For Trent McDuffie Extension?

[fuzzy]

I've seen people on social media and other websites say that the Chiefs messed up by not extending McDuffie right after the Super Bowl. The logic being that the price is only going to go up. First, that assumes that McDuffie and his agent were willing to immediately sign and we don't know that.

Second, does McDuffie actually have the leverage here? Let's assume McDuffie wants to reset the corner market. That will be over 30M APY after we just recently saw Stingley sign his deal.

The Chiefs are paying 4M in 2025 for McDuffie. And 13M for McDuffie in 2026. That's what he's under contract for. His name is on the dotted line. Then in 2027 we can franchise tag for a below market value price. And we could even tag him again in 2028 for probably below market price. That's 4 full seasons of below market pay.

If Veach decided to play hardball here we could delay McDuffie's free agency until he is 29 years old without ever having to pay him market value.

Are there any NFL teams who want to break the bank for a 29 year corner? This isn't QB or OL or DL where guys can play forever and remain elite well into their 30s. A 29 year old corner is not a good candidate for a long term, mega deal unless the guaranteed money is very low.

Makes you really consider, it seems like the Chiefs have all the leverage here. Not McDuffie.

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

You said words, but other than No, none of that means anything.

So 15 then?

Nope. 32.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by fuzzy

The Chiefs don't have to pay him what he wants. McDuffie is under contract for 2 more years. And then we can tag him. If we want to play hardball he ain't getting anywhere close to top of the market.

No player(as far as I know) has ever played with the team on a 2nd tag year.

[Rainbarrel]

Is this about the tobacco harvest of 1802

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by BigRedChief

No player(as far as I know) has ever played with the team on a 2nd tag year.

Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins. Which is no problem because QBs have all the leverage. They can play forever and they are more important to the success or failure of a team.

[Red Dawg]

Originally Posted by O.city

The starting price for an extension starts at the 2 tags. Work from there.

Terrible idea. Pay him now.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by fuzzy

Agree completely. Team friendly deal or tag and trade in 2028.

Corners don't run this league. QBs and Linemen do.

No way to know what's going on behind the scenes. But if McDuffie and his agent think they are going to reset the corner market then they don't understand how this organization operates. Corner is not a premium position.

They have the highest paid C in the history of the league.

If we wanna get into non premium positions....

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

Terrible idea. Pay him now.

The guaranteed $ an agent will start at, is the price of two franchise tags.

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by O.city

They have the highest paid C in the history of the league.

If we wanna get into non premium positions....

True. Although I'd take Creed at 18M over McDuffie for 31M.

[O.city]

They're into paying elite players. He's an elite player. Paying them isn't the issue.

It's paying good players elite money.

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by O.city

They're into paying elite players. He's an elite player. Paying them isn't the issue.

It's paying good players elite money.

We didn't want to pay Tyreek. I'm not sure we want to pay McDuffie. People can say we broke the bank for Chris Jones and we did. And Chris also had us over a barrel. You don't allow elite interior pass rushers out the door. Corners and WRs are a completely different situation.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

The starting price for an extension starts at the 2 tags. Work from there.

Yeah, this shouldn't be that crazy.

$14 million(ish) for the 5th year
$21 million for the first tag
$25 million for the 2nd tag.

Based on Stingley's numbers, about $27 million in 'new' money for the next 2 years should be in the ballpark.

That gets you to about 5 years/$115 million. Push another 6 million into those 2 years and drive them up nearer $30 million/season if you want -- you're still looking at 5/$121 million.

Not at all dissimilar to the Surtain deal at that point. Market may push that up a bit but there aren't a ton of CBs out there due to challenge the top of the market who will push that CB tag figure up a ton.

Ultimatley his hands are tied a bit by the pro bowl snubs that kept his 5th year down and thus won't serve to drive his franchise tag seasons any higher either.

I'd like to get a deal done that would take him through his age 30 season and ensure that he plays his entire prime here. If we can't...aight. I'll keep him through age 28 and let him walk.

Chiefs have plenty of leverage here and most critically, plenty of time.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by fuzzy

We didn't want to pay Tyreek. I'm not sure we want to pay McDuffie. People can say we broke the bank for Chris Jones and we did. And Chris also had us over a barrel. You don't allow elite interior pass rushers out the door. Corners and WRs are a completely different situation.

Tyreek was a 3rd contract. Different deal.

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah, this shouldn't be that crazy.

$14 million(ish) for the 5th year
$21 million for the first tag
$25 million for the 2nd tag.

Based on Stingley's numbers, about $27 million in 'new' money for the next 2 years should be in the ballpark.

That gets you to about 5 years/$115 million. Push another 6 million into those 2 years and drive them up nearer $30 million/season if you want -- you're still looking at 5/$121 million.

Not at all dissimilar to the Surtain deal at that point. Market may push that up a bit but there aren't a ton of CBs out there due to challenge the top of the market who will push that CB tag figure up a ton.

Ultimatley his hands are tied a bit by the pro bowl snubs that kept his 5th year down and thus won't serve to drive his franchise tag seasons any higher either.

I'd like to get a deal done that would take him through his age 30 season and ensure that he plays his entire prime here. If we can't...aight. I'll keep him through age 28 and let him walk.

Chiefs have plenty of leverage here and most critically, plenty of time.

This. If McDuffie would take 23 APY then let's make a deal. But he has no leverage for 30 plus million. He's still under contract for 4m this year. And the lack of pro bowls keeps the 5th year option low.

He could say fine, I'll wait and ride out the contract and the tags, but that is not going to work out for a corner. Teams are looking to move on from corners who are 28 plus.

He's got no leverage.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

Tyreek was a 3rd contract. Different deal.

Tyreek was also a very unique player.

McDuffie is a very GOOD player. Maybe a great player. But I was actually thinking about this in your Rice thread. Tyreek was a great player with HoF traits. That's a guy you go ahead and sign. It's typically what we've done.

Rice may prove to have great production but doesn't have HoF traits.

Now where's McDuffie fit in there? Boy, I just don't know. His speed is good -- not elite. His size has been attacked on the boundary.

So how much weight do you put on the fact that he's aggressive, smart and can gear up/down like nobody's business? Can that be a suitable proxy for a lack of 'explosive' traits or plus size?

It's just a hard question to answer. The guys we've paid at/near the top of the market have been guys who have had Pro Bowl production AND HoF physical attributes. Creed is a bit of a strange case because man, how do you define HoF traits for a C? Likewise with Smith at OG. I really don't know. A guy like Bolton didn't GET that top of the market money some were thinking he'd pursue.

The only commonality I can find on the guys we choose to really take care of is that these are guys who have produced at a high level and who's raw physical talent is so loud that you won't risk losing them.

Is Rice that guy? Man, I'm not sure he is. Is McDuffie that guy? The world wonders...

[PatMahomesIsGod]

Agents are advising top tier clients not to sign second contracts early.

This is a moot point.