Kansas City sports future is bright: Bobby Witt Jr signs Patrick Mahomes-like deal
Royals sign 11-year contract extension Monday
The Royals were once the toast of Kansas City, a young baseball team on the rise. , a group of players who stunned the sports world by reaching the World Series in 2014 before winning it all in 2015. But after a few lackluster years, the NFL’s Chiefs have become a global phenomenon, with star quarterback Patrick Mahomes also leading a one-off game. two Super Bowl championships in the last four years.
Mahomes will hoist the Lombardi Trophy again on Sunday when the Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
But MLB’s Royals want to get back into action. On Monday, the franchise made a huge decision that could change its future and help it return to the championship for years to come.
Inside the royal comm-Witt-ment
The Royals agreed to terms with shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. on Monday. on an 11-year contract extension worth $288.8 million guaranteed. This represents the largest financial commitment for a player in Kansas City in franchise history dating back to 1969 — and it avoids awkward discussions about a possible trade of their star player.
The contract includes a team option for three more seasons beyond the 2034 campaign. If the expansion continues, the total value would be $377 million over 14 years.
Witt followed up a promising rookie season in 2022 with an All-Star caliber sophomore campaign in 2023. The 23-year-old hit a .276 average and hit 30 home runs with 49 stolen bases while leading MLB with 11 triples. Witt, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, also played high-level defense at shortstop and was touted as a future Gold Glove winner at that position.
Wittand’s contract is the first step Royal process to build a new identity and a new era – which they hope will include a brand new stadium in downtown Kansas City. In two months, voters will decide on a ballot initiative that includes a tax increase that would fund the replacement of 55-year-old Kauffman Stadium and the renovation of adjacent Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes also signed the next decade
Unlike Witt, Mahomes Kansas City’s long-term future was never in doubt. The Chiefs knew what they had in Mahomes when they selected him 10th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft and signed him to a massive extension as soon as he was eligible in 2020.
Mahomes signed with Kansas City through 2031 NFL. in the 2020 season under a 10-year, $450 million contract. Other quarterbacks have signed higher-value contracts each year since, but Mahomesand#039; the extension alone is the largest financial commitment to a single player in NFL history.
With Mahomes and now Witt under long-term contracts, it’s not out of the question that Kansas City will once again become the home of baseball and football, a place other teams will have to conquer if they want to win championships for years to come. to come to come.
