The stunning Lamar Jackson contract and how it relates to Patrick Mahomes and KC Chiefs

Lamar Jackson on Thursday shared a story of his childhood upbringing, guided by a single mother who had set the example for four kids that they’d have to grind to get what they wanted. Never asked for a handout, as he framed it against the appropriate backdrop of a contract extension with the Baltimore Ravens.

An admirable story, no doubt.

The contract itself invokes a bit of different kind of emotion.

Shock, mostly.

Jackson inked the richest contract in NFL history in terms of annual average value, topping one signed by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts last month, though probably soon to be topped by Joe Burrow (Bengals) or Justin Herbert (Chargers) or both.

The one-upmanship is not unique to this offseason. It’s been happening with regularity, even if the latest example has some unique traits. Jackson set records with a $72.5 million signing bonus, $80 million take-home pay in the first year of the deal and other records for Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 value.

Oh, and he secured a no-trade clause, and security that the Ravens cannot franchise-tag him upon the deal’s completion. Oh, and one last thing: He did it while serving as his own agent.

All told, the security here seems quite one-sided, and more so than ever.

This is not a Lamar Jackson column, though.

It is once more a Patrick Mahomes column — and not simply just another opportunity to point out that Mahomes is now the seventh-highest paid quarterback in football when grading the contracts by annual average value. Mahomes had been a bargain long before Jackson negotiated his own contract this offseason.

Because he can be.

Because he’s been willing to be.

He’s actually better off in the big picture — even financially — if he stays out of the arms race that serves as a determining factor in tiers of NFL talent, but if you have to eye the long game to see it.

That’s how the players view it, by the way. The highest-paid player at every NFL position reaps more than the financial reward. It is seen as a status symbol among peers. The best are paid like the best.

Mahomes is a unique example. We know where he ranks, whether he’s top dollar or six rank ahead of his dollars. He doesn’t need the status symbol. He has the Super Bowls. Highest-paid is a luxury in his world, not a file in the argument. The argument leads with the championships. His contract does not determine his worth.

The rings do. The MVPs do.

Jackson, the winner of one NFL playoff game in his career, wants the cash and status symbol. Who wouldn’t? Well, the guy who thinks it could cost him a chance at another Super Bowl.

Over the last week, as the Chiefs added seven players to their roster via the NFL Draft, the organization’s owner, general manager and head coach were each asked to take detours and talk about the timeline for a new Mahomes contract.

Mind you, Mahomes has completed all of one year and three months of his 10-year pact, a contract that has more security than its credited, considering the guarantees kick in 18 months in advance. And now the Chiefs are apparently on the clock? Their quarterback is still under contract longer than any other QB in football.

If we’re going to do this exercise — treat the money as symbolic of talent — we’ll be reporting on the Chiefs tearing up Mahomes’ contract every offseason.

Do you think Mahomes didn’t know this would happen? Do you think he really thought his contract would hold up in annual average value for 10 seasons?

Give his intelligence a bit more credit than that.

In the days after signing the pact, Mahomes texted a teammate and told him, “I left some (money) on the table for you.”

The question for the next few years is about his comfort. Or the length of his existing comfort.

Because Mahomes signed his contract based on his current feeling. Based on how he thought he’d feel four years later. Six years later. Ten years later.

But if you think he’s being tested now, just wait. In two full seasons, he has already fallen to seventh in this version of the quarterback power rankings. He could be ninth by the time the Chiefs drop the Super Bowl banner on opening night.

Is there a fall that grows too uncomfortable?

He’s outwardly the opposite. What has separated Mahomes is what has separated the Chiefs — his insistence that’s he’s content with his number. That he doesn’t need the number to prove his value.

That’s what will most influence the Chiefs’ future, but there’s an argument he should be content with it — and that he doesn’t have to prioritize winning above dollars in order to get there, either.

This isn’t the adversarial relationship it’s made out to be. These things can go hand-in-hand.

And maybe this is going to sound like I’m sitting on the opposite side of the table during negotiations.

But Mahomes is literally the most-watched quarterback in the nation’s most popular sport over the last half-decade. Think there’s not financial benefit in that? Think it’s just coincidence you see him in commercial breaks of his own games?

On Saturday, he was scheduled to not only attend the Kentucky Derby, but deliver the traditional “Riders Up!” call.

Nobody in football, particularly in the aftermath of Tom Brady’s retirement, garners more attention than Mahomes. The attention comes from the numbers he puts up. The attention comes from the personality with which he plays. But most of all, the attention comes from wins. Simply put, the brand is more visible when you win. When you play in the sport’s biggest games year after year.

It pays to win.

Do you remember Tom Brady for his championships, or do you remember Kirk Cousins because he made 133% of Tom Brady’s contract value in 2020, the year of Brady’s final Super Bowl?

That’s the question that has confronted Mahomes.

His answer has been consistent.

But it will be tested every offseason.