Coming off a second straight Super Bowl title (and third overall), Andy Reid has cemented his legacy but also helped his case to land a new contract with the Chiefs. An extension was floated as a possibility in the lead-in to Kansas City’s latest championship, and one could soon be in place.
Reid and the Chiefs are expected to negotiate a new deal in the coming weeks, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. To little surprise, he adds that the extension could very well make him the league’s highest-paid coach. Given Kansas City’s success during the team’s run with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, Reid will certainly have considerable leverage in contract talks.
Sean Payton‘s Broncos pact averages $17M per season, while fellow AFC West coach Jim Harbaugh will average $16M with the Chargers. Reid’s current contract is believed to check in at $12M per year, and a raise moving him to at least the top of the division would certainly be justified. With Bill Belichick out of the picture for at least the coming season, Reid comfortably leads all active coaches in terms of all-time wins (258), so a short-term accord reflecting his status amongst his peers would likely include a notable raise.
Retirement has become a question in Reid’s case in recent years. The 65-year-old has elected to carry on in his current capacity, though, a decision no doubt made easier with Mahomes still in place and the Chiefs managing to qualify for the AFC title game in each of the past six years. Reid has previously stated a willingness to coach into his 70s, and doing so would allow him to continue climbing the all-time ranks and competing for further hardware.
Mahomes is under contract through 2031, and while the Chiefs could lose at least one key defender in free agency this offseason, the team profiles as having a high floor with Reid at the helm. The latter sports a winning percentage of .715 in his 11 years in Kansas City, and the Chiefs are likely to remain Super Bowl contenders as long as he and Mahomes are in the fold. That may very well continue to be the case beyond 2024.
