Chiefs Humphrey Now Highest Paid Center

Humphrey just got paid!

With two Pro Bowl nods under his belt and back-to-back Super Bowl victories against the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, respectively, Creed Humphrey, after all of that hard work, has another box to check on his already pristine resume.

Humphrey and the Kansas City Chiefs have come to terms on a four-year, $72 million deal that will make him the highest-paid center in NFL history, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday night, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

The deal includes $50 million in guarantees, sources said.

“He’s a heck of a football player, a real good football player,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after Thursday night’s 34-21 preseason loss to the Chicago Bears. “He started off that way and he kept it going that way. So, we appreciate all he does and we appreciate having him here.”

Over the length of the new deal, Humphrey will average a cool $18 million per season, making him the highest-paid center in history based on annual average, eclipsing the previous mark set by the newly retired Jason Kelce with the Eagles at $14.25 million in a massive way.

Humphrey, who was scheduled to play in the final year of his rookie contract, has been an iron man and started every game possible since he was taken in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of the University of Oklahoma by the Chiefs.

He has been the starting center for Kansas City in 51 consecutive games to kick off his career and all 10 postseason games during his tenure.

Humphrey has been a pivotal piece in shoring up the Chiefs offensive’ line and building a fortress around quarterback Patrick Mahomes to protect him and has been a Pro Bowl pick in each of the last two seasons, though he has never participated in the Pro Bowl Games because he has been a little busy helping the squad to consecutive Super Bowl wins.

“Needless to say, we’re extremely excited to continue Creed’s career here,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. “He’s been great for our organization, and look, we have been very fortunate to have a really good group of young guys and hopefully, we are able to get a little bit more work done with some of these other young guys as well.”

A stout run blocker and pass protector, the 25-year-old’s importance for the Chiefs cannot be overstated, and he has now got the bag to prove that.

Next on the Chiefs to do list will most likely be taking care of their other starting guard, Trey Smith, who is entering the final season of his contract. Smith, who came to the Chiefs in the same draft as Humphrey, out of the University of Tennessee, was third in the NFL in pass block win rate at 96.6%.