While Patrick Mahomes may have signed the most lucrative contract in NFL history, only $63 million in fully guarantee at signing and is a pay-as-you-go deal for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes had sought to tie his earnings to a percentage of the salary cap, but was unable to get that concession from the Chiefs.

Mahomes was already owed $27.63 million over the next two seasons and then could have had the chance to play the year-to-year franchise-tag, but instead took the $63 million fully guaranteed at signing.

As one league source observed, “It’s like he had no leverage.”

The Chiefs won't be required to improve Mahomes' new contract for the next 12 years, which will almost certainly see the market for quarterbacks improve beyond the $45 million annual average he set with this contact.