The 2024-25 regular season is officially over.
14 teams are currently battling for a place in Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans with all of them, bar the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions, going head-to-head on wild-card weekend this Saturday and Sunday.
While it’s an important landmark in the NFL calendar, Monday January 13 is also a notable date for one other reason.
It’s the first day of the offseason for the teams who didn’t make the playoffs, which means every player from the 2022 draft class can negotiate for a contract extension.
The Chiefs selected ten players in that year’s draft, nine of which are still part of Andy Reid‘s team and therefore eligible for an extension.
All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie is at the top of that list, and seems a surefire bet to have his fifth-year option picked up by the reigning, back-to-back Super Bowl champions.
Beyond his fifth year option, McDuffie could eventually end up owing AFC West rival Patrick Surtain II for potentially resetting the floor for his second professional contract.
Last year, First-Team All-Pro CB Surtain agreed to a massive four-year, $96 million contract extension, with $77.5 million guaranteed, to become the highest-paid DB in NFL history.
The Denver Broncos star will make an average of $24 million per season on his new contract extension, leading Kansas City reporter Charles Goldman to conclude that “McDuffie is probably getting $25 million per year” when he signs his next major pro deal.
The 24-year-old is projected to sign a four-year, $90-100 million contract after the Chiefs pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie deal that would be befitting of his status as a top-five cornerback.
“Worth every penny,” wrote one fan on social media.
“He deserves a deal. He’s a guy to keep around for a long time,” added another.
“McDuffie is the best corner in the league and could easily be the new face of the organization as the old bucks like Kelce retire. Kid is worth every penny and then some,” a third posted.
“He deserves it. Great player,” a fourth commented.
McDuffie has proven himself to be a shutdown defender this season with a 68.52 percent lockdown rate, first among all defenders, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
This season, McDuffie has registered 59 tackles to go along with 13 deflected passes, two interceptions, and a forced fumble while surrendering a 82.9 passer rating when targeted in coverage.
He is rated as the second-best corner out of 219 players at PFF, but despite his stellar season for the 15-2 Chiefs, McDuffie was a notable omission from this season’s Pro Bowl squads and arguably the biggest snub.
“Robbery… can’t stand Pro Bowl voting format,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid wrote in response to a post by Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports.
The Pro Bowl snub also has major financial ramifications for McDuffie.
“People consider the Pro Bowl a joke, and that’s fine. But the Pro Bowl affects players’ pockets, and that’s where it’s unfortunate when a player gets snubbed,” Schultz wrote on X.
“For example, Trent McDuffie has never been selected to the Pro Bowl on the original ballot, so his fifth-year option is about $12.7m. If he had made one Pro Bowl, it would be $17.1m. If he had made two, it would be over $20m. It’s unfortunate for the players who are deserving.”
It means the Chiefs will save about $7 million on McDuffie’s fifth-year option, simply because he’s been criminally overlooked in Pro Bowl voting.
Great news for the Chiefs looking to keep their salary cap down, not so great news for McDuffie.
The four cornerbacks selected over him for the AFC’s Pro Bowl roster were Houston Texans‘ Derek Stingley, Pat Surtain II, Baltimore Ravens‘ Marlon Humphrey, and Cleveland Browns‘ Denzel Ward.
Despite the setback, the two-time Super Bowl champion has his eyes firmly fixed on the big prize, and believes with the team’s defensive resurgence in recent games, things are coming together.
“I think it’s happening at the right time,” McDuffie told reporters over a busy Christmas period that saw the Chiefs win three games over an 11-day span.
“We talked a lot about [how] just over this year, the lack of turnovers we had in the beginning of the season. This is something that we’ve been working really hard to get.
“Things are starting to fall into place, We’re starting to make plays on the ball. I’m just happy that we’re doing it right now — and [can] continue to climb as we get to the playoffs.”
“Man, I love it,” McDuffie said of the Chiefs starters getting rest in the Week 18 regular season finale and on wild-card weekend.
“I was just talking to my family about it. My rookie year, we were able to get all home games — and you just can’t beat Arrowhead in the playoffs. I know we’ve got the first round off — but man, I can’t wait to play at Arrowhead in the playoffs!”
The next time Kansas City play will be in the divisional round against either the Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, or Denver Broncos.