George Karlaftis's extension is a big win for the Chiefs when we look at the details
Furious George is staying in KC, and at a better price than initially thought.
George Karlaftis is going to be a Chief for a long time.
Over the weekend, it was reported that Kansas City and the defensive end (who was drafted in 2022 and is only 24 years old) had come to an agreement on a contract extension. Here’s what the initial reporting was, per Adam Schefter:
There has been a lot of conversation about Karlaftis and a contract extension as of late, as after Trey Smith broke the bank with his new deal reporting started quickly that Karlaftis was going to get paid next. This was somewhat surprising to many Chiefs fans (myself included), who believed that the more natural next step would be to extend All Pro Trent McDuffie, who is without debate one of the best three players at his position in the NFL. However, there were reasons why Karlaftis’s deal was perhaps easier to get done, which we’ll come back to.
I was one of several voices that expressed a certain amount of hesitation regarding giving Karlaftis a new contract. The primary issue that I had, to quote me exactly, was that with edges is that you have to pay them a TON… And that Karlaftis, while a good and useful player, does not win 1x1 at a rate close to what the top-end guys (or 2nd tier guys) do. And when you look at what top-tier defensive ends are paid, it’s a genuinely intimidating list in terms of the monetary amounts.
My fear with Karlaftis was that his position, sack numbers, and age would lead to a situation where he would be able to get something close to top-of-market money in a free agent deal. Which, of course, would affect negotiations with the Chiefs. And while, again, Karlaftis is a perfectly solid and useful player (a good one, even), he’s more of a motor/effort guy who pushes the pocket inside and has enough athleticism to pursue/close than a guy who wins at a high rate 1x1. Many of his pressures/hits/sacks are in some way similar to this:
Make no mistake, this is not a bad play from Karlaftis. It’s a decent one, where he recognizes that the QB is starting to bail deep and to the right, and pursues quickly to bring him down. You can see the advantage of having a high-motor guy with good athleticism. However, Karlaftis didn’t “win” his rep here against the left tackle. The reason he’s able to generate pressure is that Charles Omenihu flashes inside on a stunt and muddies the pocket enough that the QB starts to bail. Once he does so, it changes the angle of the block and allows Karlaftis to run towards him on a straight line. Had the pressure not come from elsewhere, Karlaftis would have almost certainly been pushed around the pocket.
I wrote about the idea of who is to credit/blame when a QB is sacked a little while back, and mentioned that Karlaftis is a good example of what separates a guy who wins 1x1 consistently vs a guy who is more average in that department but manages to collect pressures/hits/sacks regardless due to his motor and athleticism. Karlaftis’s lack of bend, despite his decent power and athleticism, means he’ll likely never be a high-level 1x1 winner like the best pass rushers in the league (or even the 2nd tier guys). And that’s what made me hesitant on the idea of paying him top dollar.
However, the Chiefs aren’t paying Karlaftis top dollar. And they aren’t actually paying him as much as the initial reporting makes it sound like. This is where the difference between a new contract and an extension becomes very important, as well as the idea of paying a guy “early” in order to get the best deal possible.
Let’s talk about contract structure, what the real “per year” amount is for Karlaftis, why it’s so important to look at how a contract is built as opposed to just initially reported numbers, and why after reviewing the details I think (with my limited understanding of such things) that this is a terrific deal for the Chiefs.