Guest column by Jeremy Rosen
In July 2020, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signed a record-breaking 10-year, $450-million contract extension. Not only did this extension make him the highest-paid player in football, but it also made him the highest-paid athlete in professional sports history. In addition, his $45 million average annual value (AAV) surpassed the $35 million AAV of the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson, who since 2019 had been the highest-paid player in football. (Mahomes's AAV is 22.7% of the 2020 salary cap, exceeding the previous record set by the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers.