Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach must be mindful of every dollar he spends this offseason, especially when it comes to contracts that stretch into the future.
Two of those future contract decisions are coming up in early May, being that the Chiefs must settle on whether or not they are picking up the fifth-year options of former first-round selections Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis by May 2. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero revealed the fifth-year option amounts on February 28.
Per Chiefs Digest beat reporter Matt Derrick, KC lucked out a bit on McDuffie’s final projection due to his lack of Pro Bowl appearances.
“Even though Trent McDuffie has been named All-Pro twice, he’s never been a Pro Bowl selection,” Derrick noted. “His fifth-year option will be $13.632 million for 2026. If he’d been named to the Pro Bowl twice, it would be $20.187 million.”
That’s helpful, being that the Chiefs will also have to pay $15.196 million for Karlaftis’ fifth-year option in 2026 according to Pelissero’s press release. For clarity, Karlaftis will make more than McDuffie because his position is valued higher by the league, despite both players falling into the same group (players who “achieve playtime criterion” but no Pro Bowls).
Either way, it creates a situation where Veach and the Chiefs will likely be budgeting in a combined $28.828 million into their finances in 2026 — being that McDuffie and Karlaftis are near-locks to get their options picked up.
“That’s a problem when draft picks like Bryan Cook, Leo Chenal, Joshua Williams, Jaylen Watson, Isiah Pacheco, and Nazeeh Johnson are also slated for free agency in 2026,” A-to-Z Sports Kansas City reporter Charles Goldman reacted while urging the Chiefs to try and work out early extensions for both McDuffie and Karlaftis.
Chiefs Extending Trent McDuffie & George Karlaftis Early in 2025 Would Help Solve 2026 Cap Issue
The downside of a tremendous draft class is that you eventually have to pay everyone at the same time. The Chiefs can get ahead of that a little bit by extending the first two members of their loaded 2022 class — but that’s not the only reason to work out extensions for McDuffie and Karlaftis.
“Not worried because the Chiefs front office is very smart, but I hope someone learned strong from Brandt Tillis [because the] 2026 cap hits not playing around,” Arrowhead Pride writer Jared Sapp pointed out last March. Listing: “[Patrick] Mahomes: $63.3 million, [Chris] Jones: $41.1 million, Karlaftis and McDuffie possibly on fifth year options.”
Sapp’s foresight was commendable here, as that future is now coming to fruition. Only, Mahomes’ 2026 cap hit has actually risen to $68.665 million following recent restructures.
The Chiefs can continue to kick the can down the road on Mahomes’ cap hits — and likely will — but it doesn’t change the fact that Veach has his work cut out for him in 2026. With that in mind, extending McDuffie and Karlaftis will help free up more cap space next year, while also rewarding each player for their contributions.
For these reasons, long-term commitments feel like a no-brainer when it comes to these two core pieces on the defensive side.
Chiefs GM Brett Veach Says Trent McDuffie & George Karlaftis Extensions Are on KC’s To-Do List
Fortunately, the forward-thinking Chiefs GM appears to be on top of this situation, as usual.
“Yeah, that’ll be on the list of things to do,” Veach told reporters at the NFL Combine after being asked about potential McDuffie and Karlaftis extensions.
“We’ll get through, obviously, this phase here,” he continued. “We’ll get with the agents on the pending free agents and put a free agency plan together, and then I would anticipate getting through the draft, and then having the summer to work with. But certainly, those are two really good players, and I’d like to get those guys — hopefully — done, if possible. But we’ll certainly have dialogue, if not before the draft, right after the draft.”
This will be a situation to monitor as the 2025 offseason progresses.
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