Veach’s next trick will be to sign the Chiefs’ other first-round draft pick from the 2022 NFL Draft, Trent McDuffie, and he’s going to need some magic to make it happen. Across 43 regular-season starts, McDuffie has recorded two interceptions, 27 passes defended, seven forced fumbles, 4.5 sacks, and 10 tackles for loss. He’s quickly become one of the league’s elite coverage corners from both the slot and outside. 

As the Chiefs gear up for negotiations with McDuffie, one of the NFL’s mechanisms designed to help teams retain homegrown talent may actually be working against them in terms of their ability to reach a long-term contract extension.

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Why a Trent McDuffie extension could prove challenging for the Chiefs

The Houston Texans‘ Derek Stingley Jr. extension and the New York Jets‘ Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner extension have thrown a bit of a wrench into the Chiefs’ plans for Trent McDuffie. Gardner signed a four-year, $120.4 million extension, which will take effect during the 2027 NFL season. That comes out to a $30.1 million average per year. Stingley Jr. signed a three-year deal worth $90 million, which comes out to $30 million per year.

McDuffie is already under contract in 2025, and the Chiefs picked up his fifth-year option for the 2026 NFL season. He’ll earn just over $18 million across those two seasons. The problem with making a long-term extension work is the value of the franchise tag. Projections for the 2027 franchise tag amount for cornerbacks are in the $23.5 million range. Back-to-back years on the franchise tag would get a 120% bump over that amount, which comes out to $28.2 million. That means the Chiefs can get an additional two years of control at $51.7 million. If they were to sign him to an extension at Gardner’s amount, that comes out to $60.2 million. If they were to sign him to an extension at Stingley Jr.’s number, it’d come out to $60 million. 

The Chiefs will likely feel they have leverage in negotiations, given the franchise tag numbers, to get McDuffie’s number under that of Stingley Jr. and Gardner. While he was selected after both Gardner and Stingley Jr. in the 2022 NFL Draft, McDuffie’s camp will likely argue the fact that he’s a two-time All-Pro, more versatile than both players above, and has been to three consecutive Super Bowls, winning two. 

There’s also the fact that the Chiefs haven’t paid a cornerback a second contract during the Brett Veach era. Each of Kendall Fuller, Bashaud Breeland, Charvarius Ward, & L’Jarius Sneed left Kansas City to cash in on long-term deals. Needless to say, a not-so-simple negotiation lies ahead for Veach and company.