Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City’s successful 2022 draft class is set to cost a bit more.
As we begin to look at estimates for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 2025 salary cap, figures for three members of the team’s vaunted 2022 draft class stand out.
Heading into the final seasons of their rookie contracts, linebacker Leo Chenal and cornerback Joshua Williams are each set to make base salaries of $3.2 million in 2025, while cornerback Jaylen Watson will earn $3.1 million. (For reference, running back Isiah Pacheco will earn a base salary of only $1.1 million — the minimum for players with three accrued seasons — even though he went only eight selections after Watson).
The discrepancy in their earnings — and Year 4 salary-cap hits — are the mandatory raises they receive under the NFL’s Proven Performance Escalator for rookie contracts.
Begun in 2018, this program is designed to eliminate a previously existing loophole: drafted players who outperform expectations are at a disadvantage relative to undrafted free agents who could negotiate new contracts earlier in their careers. All players drafted after the first round are eligible. The extra money players can earn is based on the cost to tender a restricted free agent (RFA).
Three years ago, the Chiefs selected Chenal in the third round (103rd overall). Then on Day 3, Kansas City found Williams in the fourth round (135th overall) and Watson in the seventh (243rd overall). Players selected after the second round can qualify for a Level 1 pay raise by playing at least 35% of a team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of their first three seasons. (For second-round draft picks — such as safety Bryan Cook — that threshold is 60%).
The $3.2 million base salary is based on the cost of an original round tender to a restricted free agent. Linebacker Nick Bolton, tight end Noah Gray and guard Trey Smith all qualified for Level 1 escalators in 2024. By being named to a Pro Bowl during his rookie contract, center Creed Humphrey qualified for a Level 3 escalator. In 2025, the base salary for that level is $5.2 million, which is the same as a second-round restricted free-agent tender. (No Kansas City players qualified for a Level 3 escalator for 2025).
Ultimately, Humphrey’s raise was rolled into his eventual position-topping extension. Gray’s contract extension was announced just as the Chiefs were preparing to face the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener.
The Chiefs probably aren’t concerned about the raises for Chenal and Watson, who should both enter the season as defensive starters. Replacing them with comparable players in free agency would likely cost much more than their augmented fourth-year base salaries. Williams’ new figure, however, could eventually put the team in an awkward position.
After Watson returned from injury at the end of the regular season, Williams did not record a defensive snap in any of Kansas City’s three playoff games. Injuries played a significant role in Williams even making the snap-count requirements. Watson also missed...
