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.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by srvy

Eventually, Duff is going to have a 6 to 7 int year, he's too good not to. No int's last year. I just don't see that lasting. Veach knows that is a big bargaining chip. Extend now while you can afford him.

Huh? He had his first two career interceptions last season. For him to have 6-7 interceptions would indicate he is being thrown at a lot which is not going to be the case. And that's a good thing.

[BigRedChief]

Originally Posted by Rainbarrel

'25 cap 279.2
'26 est. 281 - 307
Meh

They said basically the same thing last off season. Then it got raised by $30 million before the season started.

[Deberg_1990]

What he be worth in a trade?

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

What he be worth in a trade?

Early 2nd round or late 1st round pick would be my guess.

[Delano]

A top three player on the club and this reerunned OP can’t wait to run him out of town. If the 2025 class of posters all look like this pile of shit, this board is cooked.

[TwistedChief]

McDuffie has no leverage? He can’t sit out?

There’s a reason why you don’t see situations playing out like you envision. It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be.

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by TwistedChief

McDuffie has no leverage? He can’t sit out?

There’s a reason why you don’t see situations playing out like you envision. It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be.

He can hold out. Then lose game checks and screw his career. Who wants to pay an aging corner who hasn't played in years?

[TwistedChief]

Originally Posted by fuzzy

He can hold out. Then lose game checks and screw his career. Who wants to pay an aging corner who hasn't played in years?

You can feel that way, but how do the Chiefs benefit if they have a player on the roster of McDuffie’s caliber who isn’t suiting up every week and helping them to win a championship?

That’s what they call “leverage” and why your string-it-out scenario will never happen.

[fuzzy]

Originally Posted by TwistedChief

You can feel that way, but how do the Chiefs benefit if they have a player on the roster of McDuffie’s caliber who isn’t suiting up every week and helping them to win a championship?

That’s what they call “leverage” and why your string-it-out scenario will never happen.

Because the Hunt family is worth 20 billion plus and they are going to print money with or without Trent.

[srvy]

Originally Posted by Why Not?

Huh? He had his first two career interceptions last season. For him to have 6-7 interceptions would indicate he is being thrown at a lot which is not going to be the case. And that's a good thing.

Deion Sanders wasn't getting picked on and getting int's. QB will tend to get the ball to his best wide receiver who is normaly being covered by by the best corner in man coverage.

Sent from my SM-G986U1 using Tapatalk

[Delano]

Originally Posted by fuzzy

Because the Hunt family is worth 20 billion plus and they are going to print money with or without Trent.

Your ignorance of both the Hunt family and how businesses operate is on par with your football takes.

[TwistedChief]

Originally Posted by fuzzy

Because the Hunt family is worth 20 billion plus and they are going to print money with or without Trent.

That’s not how it works, no. The person with the most money doesn’t always hold all the leverage.

[kccrow]

I don't think it's reasonable to compare McDuffie to Stingley. Stingley is arguably (maybe even not so arguably) the best outside CB in the game today. McDuffie is excellent, even elite, but he's not Stingley and doesn't bring the same things to the table.

He's much more Denzel Ward in that he can play inside or outside. Ward is better outside, and McDuffie is better inside, but they both have the flexibility to move around. The issue is that Ward signed his deal three years ago at 20 AAV.

I'd argue his current rate probably should be in that 22-24 range, but market trends always point North, right? Anything around 4/100 is a major win in his favor, in my opinion. Several corners have signed a 4-year extension heading into year 4 with a 5th-year option already exercised. I'd say this is the time to do it if you're going to do it. Otherwise, I don't think it's necessarily that wrong to consider the probability that he plays out the next two seasons, gets tagged, and we go from there.

I don't know that there is distinct "leverage" one way or another. The player always has the option to sit out and you have him locked to guaranteed money right now. That hurts your team. As a team you have the leverage of controlling him for as much as 4 seasons, but the reality is more likely to be 3. That hurts the player in that he's not getting that big cash payment up front.

[Deberg_1990]

Makes me wonder if the Chiefs do a Sneed type of thing with him? Take care of him by trading him away to a partner that’s more willing to give him big money.