{"id":24665,"date":"2025-07-20T21:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/24665\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T21:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T21:58:08","slug":"sources-chiefs-lock-up-de-george-karlaftis-with-4-year-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/24665\/","title":{"rendered":"Sources: Chiefs lock up DE George Karlaftis with 4-year deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> and defensive end George Karlaftis<\/a> reached an agreement on a four-year, $93 million contract extension that includes $62 million guaranteed, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.<\/p>\n

With two years left on his rookie contract and entering his prime, Karlaftis, 24, made a long-term commitment to the Chiefs with the new deal, which runs through the 2030 season.<\/p>\n

General manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid quickly shifted their attention to prioritize signing Karlaftis after the team accomplished its final major objective for this offseason: signing Pro Bowl right guard Trey Smith<\/a> to a record-setting four-year, $94 million contract extension just hours before Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline for franchised-tagged players to agree to long-term contracts.<\/p>\n

In his three years with the Chiefs, Karlaftis has recorded 24.5 sacks, consistent production that was often a byproduct of his tenacity and relentless pursuit of the opposing quarterback. Karlaftis has also been effective in one-on-one matchups while lining up next to All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones<\/a>, the Chiefs’ best defender. When Jones created pressure on the opposing quarterback — sometimes beating two linemen in less than 2.5 seconds — Karlaftis was the defensive lineman who most often collected the sack.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Picks<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season, Karlaftis led the Chiefs with eight sacks and a career-high 28 quarterback hits. He also recorded five pass breakups and 35 tackles. In the Chiefs’ three-game postseason run, Karlaftis elevated his performance, recording four sacks and eight quarterback hits.<\/p>\n

The Chiefs were eager to agree to this deal because Karlaftis, under his new contract, will be just the 10th-highest-paid defender among pass rushers, earning an annual average salary of $23.25 million, which includes incentives. By agreeing to the extension, Karlaftis is expected to become an even bigger focal point in longtime coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, alongside Jones and linebacker Nick Bolton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Karlaftis is the first member of the Chiefs’ impactful 2022 draft class — which includes running back Isiah Pacheco<\/a>, safety Bryan Cook<\/a>, linebacker Leo Chenal<\/a> and cornerbacks Trent McDuffie<\/a> and Jaylen Watson<\/a> — to sign a second contract with the team. The Chiefs used the second of their two first-round picks following the blockbuster Tyreek Hill<\/a> trade to select Karlaftis, who has been a starter since he entered the league.<\/p>\n

The 2022 draft class helped the Chiefs further establish their dynasty. The team won back-to-back Super Bowl championships and reached the title game again last season, becoming the first repeat champion to reach the Super Bowl for a third straight time. In 10 postseason games, Karlaftis has been a reliable contributor, posting eight sacks and 16 quarterback hits, two fumble recoveries and one pass breakup.<\/p>\n

Throughout the past few months, even before the deadline for franchised-tagged players, the Chiefs have been in contact with a trio of their young players — Smith, Karlaftis and McDuffie — to ensure they remain core members of the roster, according to a team source. The Chiefs hope they can accomplish the last part of what would be a trifecta of deals before the season starts by signing McDuffie, a two-time All-Pro, to an extension. Such a deal, though, would likely be a record-setting one similar to Smith’s contract.<\/p>\n

The New York Jets<\/a> signed cornerback Sauce Gardner<\/a>, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2022 draft, to a record-setting four-year, $120.4 million extension. A two-time All-Pro, Gardner’s deal included $85.653 million guaranteed. For the Chiefs to sign McDuffie to an extension, the deal would likely have to exceed the terms of Gardner’s contract.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs and defensive end George Karlaftis reached an agreement on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-24665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}