An NFL reporter dropped a bombshell in Kansas City after a Super Bowl loss to Jalen Hurts‘ Eagles. The revelation was, that if the Chiefs decided to cut their star tight end, Travis Kelce, from the team, they would not bear a cap hit of $19.8 million and could save 17 million dollars. Well, that would be a drastic step that’s unlikely to happen. But Kansas City’s hand may be forced as a reporter has exposed the Chiefs‘ Achilles heel in a tweet ahead of the offseason.
The reporter Adam Best shared that the Chiefs are among the franchises spending least aggressively on their players. The text in his tweet says, “Salary cap dollars in void years (a smart way of circumventing annual limits)” while giving crucial numbers of the top teams’ salary cap in void years. While revealing the numbers, Best said, “Clark Hunt must spend more aggressively. The Chiefs are in danger of falling way behind in the arms race.” Fans also commented that Clark Hunt‘s behavior is looking quite conservative.
Salary cap dollars in void years (a smart way of circumventing annual limits):
1. PHI: $390.4M
2. SF: $204.1M
10. DET: $52.1M
11. BAL: $50.8M
16. BUF: $33.1M
28. KC: $1.86MClark Hunt must spend more aggressively. The Chiefs are in danger of falling way behind in the arms race.
— Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) February 12, 2025
What are void years?
Void years in an NFL contract? Think of them like an illusion. They exist on paper but were never meant to be played. Teams use them as placeholders to spread out a signing bonus, making massive contracts look more manageable on the salary cap. Here’s how it works: A signing bonus can be stretched over a max of five seasons. So, if a player’s real contract is only three years, teams can tack on up to two void years to spread out the cap hit. Simple math—max void years = five minus actual years left.
But here’s the kicker—once those fake years arrive and the player isn’t re-signed, all that delayed cap hit comes crashing down in one lump sum. It’s basically kicking the financial can down the road… until you suddenly have to foot the bill all at once. So a team with a large salary cap trapped in void years usually represents a ‘win now’ mentality. Spending aggressively allows teams to pick up the best free agents and even bestow roster bonuses. Whereas one with a lower salary cap trapped represents building for longer term stability at the cost of not assembling the best team that money can buy right now.
The numbers the reporter revealed by Adam Best show why the Eagles ended up as the Super Bowl winners this season. They bear a cap of $390.4M waiting to explode on them. They also have $29.1M in dead cap space in 2025. Whereas the Chiefs only carry a risk of a $1.86M payout at short notice. But that doesn’t mean they’re not spending big. It just means they don’t have contracts that are structured over unnecessarily long periods that stretch beyond the player’s actual years on the field. To talk about the Chiefs here, they have only $11.5M, the ninth lowest salary space for the upcoming season! Hence the whispers around Kelce.
Jalen Hurts’ team proved how much financial leverage can help a team grow. Salary caps aside, Jalen Hurts’ team exposed the Chiefs offense!
Jalen Hurts’ team exposed Patrick Mahomes offense
The Eagles’ defense just crushed the Chiefs unprecedentedly. Josh Sweat of the Eagles became a star when he sacked the Chiefs’ star quarterback. But it happens. The game actually went up in excitement when Patrick Mahomes got sacked a staggering six times. It was completely unexpected. It was so horrible for the Chiefs QB that, reports revealed, “Mahomes was at his stall, a few lockers inside of the Chiefs’ locker room doors. Sitting, facing the wall, Mahomes wasn’t scrolling through his phone. He didn’t touch the two full bottles of water in reach of his left hand. In a daze, Mahomes wasn’t wearing his red shoes or socks. No slides. He wasn’t chatting with teammates.” He has also taken the blame for the Super Bowl loss on himself.
Apart from the sacks, Cooper DeJean’s pick-six was a terrible move that knocked the wind out of the opponents. Talking about this, Jalen Hurts’ teammate said, “Right when I touched it. I was trying to find the open lane, find the open grass to get in the end zone. Luckily, I had some guys throwing blocks out there for me and I was able to get in there. It was awesome.” The Vic Fangio-led defense was so good that the Chiefs’ world-class offense couldn’t even beat it once at full strength.
This young generation in the league, like Cooper DeJean, Jalen Hurts (26-year-old), and Jayden Daniels are making tremendous changes in the NFL right now. Wonder if the Chiefs will try to imitate the Eagles’ roster moves and splash the cash this off season.
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