Kansas City Chiefs right guard Trey Smith reportedly agreed to a four-year, $92 million extension with the team on Tuesday. After his first Pro Bowl nod in 2024, Smith has now become the highest-paid guard in NFL history, protecting MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
On Tuesday, Adam Schefter reported that the new deal includes $70 million in guaranteed money. Schefter also added that Smith is receiving the highest annual salary and guaranteed money for the position.
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The former Super Bowl Champions secured Smith’s services hours ahead of the 4 p.m. ET franchise tag deadline. Smith would have been limited to a one-year deal in 2025 if the Chiefs had missed the deadline.
Mahomes himself expressed his excitement with an emoji on X (formerly Twitter) after reposting the NFL’s original report that Smith and the Chiefs came to terms on an extension:
Kansas City placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Smith, worth $23.4 million, earlier this offseason. The non-exclusive franchise tag, unlike the exclusive franchise tag, permitted Smith to negotiate with other teams and sign an offer sheet. The Chiefs would then have an opportunity to match any offer sheet that Smith signed. If they failed to match a signed offer sheet, they would receive draft compensation in the form of two first-round picks from the signing team. No such deal came into play, however.
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Despite the delay in coming to a long-term deal, Smith did report for the team’s mandatory minicamp in June — a move praised by teammate and All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jones himself was at the center of a contract dispute with the organization back in 2023, which The Athletic estimated cost him just under $4 million in fines.
“It’s good Trey didn’t take my approach. Trey is doing the right thing … Franchise tag is like $25 million, right? That’s the big bucks,” Jones joked with reporters. Jones missed all of training camp, the NFL preseason and Week 1 of the regular season before coming to terms on a new one-year deal reportedly worth up to $25 million.
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The Chiefs drafted Smith in the sixth round in 2021 and signed him to a four-year deal worth $3.61 million, including a $130,708 signing bonus. As a rookie, Smith played 100% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps. He’s since started in all but one regular-season game for Kansas City, with two Super Bowl rings and a 2024 Pro Bowl selection. Pro Football Focus credits Smith with just a single sack allowed during that Pro Bowl campaign.
Before the NFL, Smith was a two-time first-team and one-time second-team All-SEC player at Tennessee.
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