NFL dynasties don’t form overnight. They usually emerge after chaos, struggles, poor decisions, bad luck, and a variety of other factors shaped by the NFL Gods. For the Kansas City Chiefs, owner Clark Hunt took over from his legendary father, Lamar Hunt, and put his mark on the team’s future.
In 2008, I spoke to Kansas City Chiefs Chairman Clark Hunt about carrying the legacy of the man who founded the AFL, moved the team from Dallas to Kansas City, and won Super Bowl IV—ironically, the last game before the merger with the NFL—regarding that daunting task.
He was very candid and told me that he hopes to win at least one Super Bowl to match his father’s success. Well, he’s won it three times since 2000, and he may be far from finished hoisting Super Bowl trophies.
Still, he faced a tough challenge in changing the franchise’s fortunes, which had fallen apart after the 2012 season. Hunt, frustrated with poor coaching decisions and how his then-General Manager, Scott Pioli, had run the team into the ground, essentially took control and hasn’t looked back.
He hired Head Coach Andy Reid, marking the beginning of a perfect storm that ultimately led to Patrick Mahomes joining the team in 2017, resulting in five Super Bowl appearances and establishing the Chiefs as a dynasty.
Hunt has assembled a strong team, led by President Mark Donovan, who manages effectively and is handling the stadium situation. Brett Veach is one of the top General Managers in the NFL and works closely with Hunt to ensure the Chiefs remain competitive with an emphasis on financial flexibility.
The balance between when to spend money on players and when not to spend it might be the most challenging aspect of being an NFL owner. If you make a bad decision, it’ll cost your team for years.
Fortunately, the Chiefs are not one of those teams because Hunt understands that to be a great team with championship goals every year, spending money can’t be cut back.
To date, he has paid a substantial amount to retain his coaching staff and front office, and understands the importance of keeping key players that foster continuity and championship success.
That means you pay $500 million for Patrick Mahomes, offer top-tier salaries to Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, Creed Humphrey, and Trey Smith with league-leading contracts. You also heavily rely on draft capital and investing in young players, supported by a coaching staff capable of helping them transition smoothly from college to the NFL.
In all, Hunt has built a comprehensive organization and has demonstrated a strong willingness to invest in guaranteed contracts, as well as to ensure that the entire organization is aligned.
To his credit, the Chiefs have no distractions, and no one involved with the team at any level is out of sync; they are all on the same page. That’s a direct result of Clark Hunt, who manages one of the best organizations in the NFL.
Still, I marvel at his willingness to follow in his father’s footsteps, but to achieve even greater success when the NFL itself is far more difficult, complicated, and expensive at every level. Hunt has managed to do it with class and focus.
He’s experienced some ups and downs throughout the process, but I see the years before Andy Reid as a period of learning. What I appreciate about Hunt’s approach to building the current dynasty is that he listens to people in the organization and trusts their judgment and advice.
Case in point, he’s letting Reid manage the team on the field and Donovan off the field. The fact that he has two of the very best people you’d want in your organization shows that sometimes owners’ egos can interfere with the process.
That isn’t true for Clark Hunt.
As he navigates this championship window and the stadium decision, he’s not going to lose sight of the present or the future. The fact that he’s secured long-term deals with his Head Coach, General Manager, and team President, as well as numerous players, shows he isn’t planning to ease up anytime soon.
One thing you can count on is that he expects more Super Bowl Trophies, and he’ll do whatever it takes to give his people what they need to keep this dynasty thriving for years to come.
