The base amount of the deal falls short of $500 million.

This is the easiest part to understand. Mahomes' 10-year extension is actually worth $450 million which was the first number that was publicized. The second number publicized was $477.6 million. We get to this number because of the remaining two seasons on Mahomes' rookie contract, which he will play under through 2021. These additional years were tacked onto the beginning of the extension making the contract a 12-year deal in its totality that will pay him a base amount of close to $480 million.

The chances Mahomes actually gets $503 million are highly unlikely.

So where does the number $503 million come from? Incentives. Within Mahomes' contract is a $1.25 million bonus if he wins the AFC Championship, and a separate $1.25 million bonus if he wins the NFL MVP award. Basically, the Chiefs quarterback would have to appear in every Super Bowl and win the NFL MVP each year from 2022 to 2031 to actually receive the full $503 million that was reported.

To illustrate how astronomically unlikely that is to occur, the MVP award has only been won five times by a single player, that being the great Peyton Manning over the course of his nearly two-decade career. As for the AFC Championship game, even Tom Brady hasn't attended the amount it would take for Mahomes to secure the entirety of his deal, as the former Patriot has only appeared in nine conference championships.

What exactly is Mahomes guaranteed with this deal? 

So this is where the deal can get confusing. As of July 14th, Mahomes is only guaranteed $63 million in addition to the $10 million, which he received at the signing according to NFL Front Office Insider for ESPN Mike Tannenbaum.

In March of 2022, the total guarantee on the contract will increase to $141 million. This likely was the injury guarantee that was originally reported by Schefter. As you may have noticed, there isn't a set amount of guaranteed dollars as is usually the case with NFL contracts. Well, Mahomes' new deal is anything but normal, and this is where the guaranteed mechanisms come into play.

Let's talk about guaranteed mechanisms.

So what are guaranteed mechanisms? From NFL Network's Ian Rapoport,

"Basically, the team guarantees Patrick Mahomes' salary a year out."

This means that Mahomes's deal must be picked up before each season, likely in March, or the team has to cut him. This is a perfect win-win situation for both parties. In Mahomes' case, he cannot be traded and his contract is fully guaranteed for each season (after the option for that season is picked up by the team) as broken down by NFL Network'sTom Pelissero. As for the Chiefs, they can move on from their quarterback without much repercussions in the form of dead money against the salary cap.

Still, Mahomes did win this deal.

Initially, Mahomes won this deal because it mirrors just how much better he is than every NFL quarterback. While quarterbacks like Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson, the next star quarterbacks to sign new contracts, will receive contracts that could average anywhere from $38 to $42 million. Mahomes blows that out of the water with his $47.76 APY. Come 2027, the Chiefs signal caller will become the first NFL player to make $50 million in one season when he is scheduled to receive just under $60 million.

Secondly, and possibly even more paramount, Mahomes' deal expires after 2031 season. He will be 36, meaning that the quarterback could possibly sign another mega-deal which isn't uncommon for quarterbacks in today's NFL. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers signed a 4-year deal worth an average of $33.5 million ($134M total) in 2018 at the age of 35 with diminishing skills. By 2031, Mahomes, who could be the bonafide greatest quarterback of all time, could easily secure a deal with an APY of well over $50 million as the salaries in the NFL continue to increase.

Lastly, this deal allows Mahomes to build a legacy in Kansas City. He's fresh off of leading the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl title in fifty years and is now tied to the team for the next twelve years. If he continues this at his current trajectory, the Texas Tech product will not only go down as the best Chief of all time, but possibly break Manning's MVP record and approach Brady's record of six Super Bowl rings. No, by 2031, Patrick Mahomes might be the best football player, statistically and visually, we have ever seen - and he just got paid as such.