Last summer, when the Kansas City Chiefs decided to hand a four-year, $88 million contract extension to former first-round pick George Karlaftis, it made sense given that he was coming off an eight-sack season in 2024 and 24.5 sacks through three years.
When players are given extensions, it's based on what they’re projected to do down the road, while also rewarding them for their past effort. It also benefits the team if they can get a deal done before other teams can start signing their extension-eligible players.Â
On Friday, one of Karlaftis’ draft classmates, Travon Walker, finally got his contract extension, and he surprisingly got more than the Chiefs' pass rusher. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Walker to a four-year, $110 million extension, which includes $77 million guaranteed.
This is a notable difference from Karlaftis’ contract, which had $61.7 million guaranteed. But one could argue that even though Karlaftis is coming off a down year, his contract looks much better based on the full body of work.
Chiefs Can View George Karlaftis' Contract in a New Light After Friday
Some Chiefs fans began to have buyer’s remorse about Karlaftis’ contract after he posted only six sacks last season. However, Karlaftis’ six sacks ranked second behind Chris Jones (seven sacks).Â
While fans expected better, there was only so much he could do as the entire defensive line did not show up last season.Â
That being said, the fact that Karlaftis’ career low for sacks in a season is six, which he’s done twice already, compared to Walker, who has had two 3.5 sack seasons. One could argue that he’s been the more consistent player than the guy who is getting more than him and who was the former No. 1 overall pick.
Speaking of Walker, he turned in a dismal 3.5 sack season after having back-to-back 10.5 sack campaigns. The Jaguars defender saw his quarterback hits dip to 13 after having 19 and 15 in the previous two years. His tackles for loss went to eight, and quarterback pressures were a career-low 19.
That’s not encouraging for a player who should be continuing to ascend. As for Karlaftis, he’s been a consistent pass rusher off the edge for the Chiefs. While he didn’t have 8.5 sacks last season, Karlaftis had 31 quarterback pressures, 23 quarterback hits, and 10 tackles for loss (career-high).
Additionally, Karlaftis was pretty good against the run, posting a 70.4 grade, per Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Walker was nowhere near on the same level in run defense as Karlaftis, with a 64.2 grade.
If you’re a Chiefs fan or someone in the front office, you'd rather take the player who cannot only get to the quarterback, but also hold their own in stopping the run. Hopefully, the Chiefs can add another pass rusher to play alongside Karlaftis, giving him better opportunities to produce in one-on-one situations.
With an average annual value of $22 million compared to Walker’s $27.5 million AAV, the Chiefs clearly got the better player, and his contract should age pretty well over time if he stays between six and eight sacks a year.