After Re-Signing Trey Smith, Chiefs Have Locked Up 2021 Draft Class

The Kansas City Chiefs re-signed right Trey Smith, rewarding him with a massive deal.

The four-year, $94 million contract includes $70 million guaranteed and makes him the highest-paid guard in NFL history. It’s the highest average annual salary and the most guaranteed money ever for an NFL guard.

Philadelphia Eagles guard Landon Dickerson ranks second with an average annual value of $21 million, and Carolina Panthers guard Robert Hunt ranks second in guaranteed money with $63 million.

Smith’s new deal is not only record-breaking, but also part of a calculated strategy by the Chiefs to keep homegrown talent.

General manager Brett Veach snared Smith, a future Pro Bowler, in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

That proved to be an exceptional draft for the Chiefs. Three players from that draft class have started more than 50 games, and the Chiefs have locked up all three stalwarts —Smith and second-round picks Creed Humphrey (63rd overall) and linebacker Nick Bolton (58th overall) from that draft.

“That’s the trick: How you do keep them?” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Brett’s, he’s the magician in that. I’m just a spectator there. They’ve played so well for us. You got to see what you can do with the contracts as they come up.”

In August of 2024, the Chiefs signed Humphrey to a four-year, $72 million extension, including $50 million guaranteed.

“He’s a heck of a football player, real good football player,” Reid said. “He started off that way, and he kept it going.”

Then in March of 2025, they extended Bolton with a three-year, $45 million deal, including $30 million fully guaranteed at signing.

“I’ve been there for seven years. It feels like home,” Bolton said. “(They) welcomed me with open arms as a little 18-year-old with short hair, no facial hair.”

The Chiefs also kept Noah Gray, the other valuable contributor from that 2021 class who could eventually supplant future Hall of Famer Travis Kelce as the team’s No. 1 tight end.

In September of 2024, the Chiefs extended Gray, the fifth round (162nd overall) pick in 2021, with a three-year, $18 million contract.

Choosing Trey Smith over Joe Thuney

Since getting drafted in the sixth round (221st overall) of the 2021 NFL Draft, Smith has been the starter at right guard.

The Opening Day starter in 2021, who went to become a 2024 Pro Bowler, has started an impressive 67 games, missing only one in his four-year career.

The Chiefs value Smith so much that they prioritized him over left guard Joe Thuney, last year’s team MVP. While they placed the tag on Smith, they traded Thuney to the Chicago Bears for a 2026 fourth-round choice.

With right tackle Jawaan Taylor on an $80 million deal and Humphrey already the highest-paid center in the NFL, signing both Thuney and Smith would have meant dedicating an enormous portion of the financial pie to the offensive line.

And the youth of Smith who is 26 — while Thuney will turn 33 and only had one year left on the five-year, $80 million contract he signed in 2021 — made him the more pragmatic choice to retain.

A Deadline Deal

The Chiefs had put the non-exclusive franchise tag on Smith in February, entitling him to contract worth $23.4 million for the upcoming season.

But the deadline to extend him to a long-term deal was Tuesday, July 15 at 3 p.m. CST, and Smith would’ve been the only NFL player under the franchise tag in 2025.

The deal was announced on Tuesday just hours before that deadline. The down-to-the-wire timing might have made Chiefs fans nervous because a one-year, $23.4 million is not ideal; it could’ve upset Smith and given the Chiefs less financial flexibility in 2025.

But Veach was confident throughout that a deal would be completed.

Before the 2025 NFL Draft, he said that he and Smith’s agents — Tory Dandy and Jimmy Sexton of Creative Arts Agency — had extensive conversations at the NFL Combine and owners’ meetings.

“Hopefully we get that done. There’s no lack of interest or will or desire on our end,” Veach said. “I’m sure once things settle down on both ends we’ll be in a position to continue this dialogue and hopefully make some progress there. There’s no secret there that we’d like to get Trey locked up.”