Overpay? Trey Smith Becomes Highest-Paid Guard in NFL After Signing $94 Million Extension with Chiefs

Trey Smith became the highest-paid guard in NFL surpassing Landon Dickerson of the Philadelphia Eagles with an AAV of $23.2 million.

Overpay? Trey Smith Becomes Highest-Paid Guard in NFL After Signing $94 Million Extension with Chiefs

Trey Smith (Image via AP)

Four-time Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs inked a major deal yesterday, signing guard Trey Smith to a four-year extension. The 26-year-old offensive lineman, who was franchise-tagged by the Chiefs in February, signed a contract extension worth $94 million, including $70 million in guaranteed money, according to Adam Schefter.

The deal has also made Trey Smith, the most expensive guard in the game’s history. The designation was already guaranteed for the Tennessee-native when he was franchise tagged a few months ago. As per the rules, the franchise tag for guards doesn’t average the top five salaries for just right or left guards. Instead, it averages the top five salaries of all offensive linemen.

Smith surpassed Landon Dickerson, who signed a $84 million extension deal ($21m AAV) with the Philadelphia Eagles last year. Chris Lindstrom, Quentin Nelson, and Robert Hunt follow close behind with $20.5m, $20m, and $20m respectively.

Smith was drafted by the Chiefs in 2021 after his tenure with the Tennessee Volunteers, where he braved blood clots in his lung to come back. Smith has been part of the Chiefs’ straight titles in 2023 and 2024, playing in 77 games so far.

The Chiefs’ have not had a good offensive line for sometime now and it has showed. The decision to keep Trey Smith, especially for a ground-breaking deal, might be associated with the fact that they don’t want to destabilize the OL furthermore.

Smith, although a key presence, is definitely not the central element in their pass protection schemes. However, the Chiefs GM Brett Veach might be forced to make some aggravating decisions on some other matters to keep the cap proper.

Kansas City’s latest decision in Trey Smith a strategic plan to protect Patrick Mahomes

In the last season, Patrick Mahomes was sacked 36 times, more than any other season in his career. At one point, there were three games in a row where he was sacked thrice. The quarterback had a decline in production as the Chiefs scrunched up many wins in one-score target margin. A portion of what led to his decline in production could be the unavailability of choices to play due to the weak OL.

Trey Smith
Trey Smith (Image via KGUR)

The Chiefs have seen it alright. The latest decision to extend Trey Smith is part of their plan to strengthen the offensive line ahead of the new season. They picked up Jaylon Moore in free agency, after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers. Picked in 2021, Moore has appeared in 55 games for the Niners, primarily at the left tackle position. He has logged 271 offensive snaps for San Francisco (259 of which at left tackle) last season.

In Week 11, Moore stepped in for Trent Williams, who was injured, and appeared in five starts. In that time period, he has yielded just nine pressures (and one sack) across 144 pass-blocking snaps. The numbers came despite facing some of the elite pass rushers like Jared Verse, Rashan Gary, and Greg Rosseau.

The Chiefs traded veteran Joe Thuney, who then played in left tackle to the Chicago Bears. In the NFL Draft 2025, they drafted Ohio State’s Josh Simmons with the 32nd pick. Simmons, who comes from a sporting family, played college football for San Diego and a one-off for the Buckeyes. He was a part of the team that won the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2025. As a freshman in San Diego, he started all 13 games for the Aztecs and logged 799 snaps.

The latest additions and decisions join Creed Humphrey, who usually tag teams with Trey Smith, Kingsley Suamataia, Jawaan Taylor, and Mike Caliendo.

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