With a 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, the Kansas City Chiefs have officially established a dynasty with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes at the helm — winning the franchise’s second Super Bowl in four years, and its third all-time.
For Reid, it’s the ultimate vindication after leaving the Eagles in 2012 as the franchise’s all-time winningest head coach.
It’s also vindication for Mahomes — who became the first player to win NFL MVP (he won his second on Sunday) and the Super Bowl in the same season since Kurt Warner in 1999 — as well as for general manager Brett Veach, who locked Mahomes into the highest value contract in NFL history with a 10-year deal worth up to $503 million signed in 2020.
Last season, when it became clear that Kansas City was not going to be able to give wide receiver Tyreek Hill the extension he desired, Veach took a risk by dealing the four-time All-Pro to the Miami Dolphins — who subsequently gave Hill a four-year, $120 million contract, the highest AAV among receivers in the league ($30M per year).
The Chiefs replaced their superstar WR with a multitude of decent options — resulting in one of the NFL’s most efficient passing offenses since 2019, per Warren Sharp.
- The Chiefs signed veterans JuJu Smith-Schuster (1YR, $3.8M), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (3YR, $30M), and Justin Watson (1YR, $1M) in free agency.
- They selected Skyy Moore out of Western Michigan in the 2022 Draft.
- In late October, they traded for Kadarius Toney from the New York Giants — which helped mightily when Mecole Hardman went down with effectively a season-ending injury in early November.
But, of course, the offense was always going to be fine with Travis Kelce in the fold, who took another step toward being considered the GOAT tight end by putting up six catches for 81 yards and one touchdown Sunday to secure his second Super Bowl ring.
On defense, Veach built around defensive tackle Chris Jones. The 2022 Defensive Player of the Year finalist had a career season two years removed from signing a four-year, $80 million contract with $60 million guaranteed — second among NFL DTs behind only Aaron Donald ($95M).
Kansas City complemented Jones last offseason by bringing in safety Justin Reid and defensive end Carlos Dunlap through free agency, as well as DE George Karlaftis and cornerback Trent McDuffie through the Draft.
If the Chiefs can keep that core together — or even add to it — they will look to cement the dynasty next season with a third Super Bowl in five years.