On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs inked a big-time defender set to be an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. Yesterday, they kept one of their offensive playmakers, and today, they retained their starting middle linebacker.
It’s been a crazy weekend for the Kansas City Chiefs. However they continue to retain some of their core nucleus. Saturday they re-signed Wide Receiver, Hollywood Brown and on Sunday afternoon they re-signed the heart of the defense, linebacker Nick Bolton.
Per Jordan Schultz at @Schultz_Report, the Chiefs and his agent, Tom Condon, agreed to a 3-year $45 million contract with $30 million in guarantees. That breaks out to $10 million per season for one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL.
Bolton is the quarterback of the defense, and he has a big champion in his defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo. The former Missouri Tiger second-round pick has been a stalwart on the Chiefs’ defense since he arrived in 2021.
He has led the team in tackles and been the thumper the Chiefs need in the middle of their defense. Chiefs Blitz learned earlier this week that Bolton was the highest internal free agent on the defensive side of the ball.
With division rivals Las Vegas and Denver, not to mention the Dallas Cowboys, rumored to be interested in the Chiefs linebacker, General Manager Brett Veach convinced Bolton and his agent that Kansas City was home.
Bolton could have received more money elsewhere, but the linebacker market averages around $15 million per season. If Bolton plays to the end of his contract, he’s on par with others at his position during his free-agent cycle.
The Chiefs still have work to do before the legal tampering period begins Monday morning. Most notably, they are attempting to sign All-Pro Guard Trey Smith to a new contract, thus eliminating the $23.3 million franchise tag.
