Patrick Mahomes Deal Sets Deshaun Watson Up for Massive Payday
Throughout the last few months, the focus around Deshaun Watson has been his pending contract extension with the Houston Texans. The two sides have had ongoing discussions over the previous several weeks, but that hasn’t led to anything concrete ironed out yet. However, those talks have become that much more interesting after Patrick Mahomes inked his massive record-breaking deal with the Kansas City Chiefs. That has put the pressure on Bill O’Brien to get the job done to keep Watson in Houston for the long haul.
Patrick Mahomes inks record-breaking deal with Chiefs
The expectation around the Chiefs since their Super Bowl 54 win has been inking their star quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a historic new deal.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, that time finally has come on Monday afternoon as Kansas City has agreed to a 10-year extension that is reportedly worth $450 million.
That is on top of the final two years of his rookie deal that puts him under contract for the next 12 seasons. He has more than earned that deal as he has become both a league MVP and Super Bowl MVP within his first three seasons. Mahomes is the face of the franchise for the Chiefs and has led them to sustain success.
It has also raised the bar significantly as Mahomes’ average annual salary on the extension sits at $45 million per season. It places the bar even higher for the next group of quarterbacks looking for a new deal, and nobody sits in a better spot than Deshaun Watson in Houston.
Pressure on Bill O’Brien to ink Deshaun Watson to new deal
The attention now shifts over to the Texans with their star quarterback Deshaun Watson as he is in the territory of commanding a new extension.
The 24-year-old is heading into the fourth year with the $17.5 million fifth-year option already picked up by the team. That has seen the Texans already move toward opening up contract talks with Watson this offseason. The only report that has come out is that he is looking to garner a three-year extension on top of his current deal.
It places the pressure right on head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien to get the job done as Patrick Mahomes’ new contract has pushed up that bar to historic levels. Given how things were already handled with trading star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Arizona Cardinals, it should put more pressure on O’Brien to give his quarterback a significant pay raises sooner than later.
Deshaun Watson headed toward historic payday
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With Mahomes inking a new lucrative deal, it further places Deshaun Watson in a promising spot.
Watson has stood firm with wanting to be with the Texans for the long haul while becoming the face of the franchise. The team has become a playoff constant with him under center behind a pair of AFC South division titles in that last two consecutive years.
The fate of the franchise is in Watson’s hands as he became the focal point of their future. Houston did make the puzzling decision to move on from Hopkins, but the organization has the chance to rectify it a bit by giving their star quarterback a massive deal to keep him in place for many years to come.
It’s on Bill O’Brien and the Texans to get the job done to give Watson a deal that will make him want to stay well beyond his rookie contract.
