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Trey Smith signs new contract to become highest-paid guard in the NFL

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey07/15/25GrantRamey
Trey Smith
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Trey Smith went from being the only player in the NFL on a franchise tag to the highest-paid guard in the league history on Tuesday, when he reportedly agreed to a four-year, $94 million extension with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Smith was previously tagged by the Chiefs for $23.4 million franchise tag. His rookie contract was worth $3.6 million over the last four seasons, including a signing bonus of $130,708. He would have been an unrestricted free agent in 2026, had a new deal not been done.

ESPN recently ranked Smith as the fourth-best interior offensive lineman in the NFL, according to a survey of league executives, coaches and scouts. Smith’s teammate with the Kansas City Chiefs, Creed Humphrey, was ranked No. 1, ahead of Tyler Smith of the Dallas Cowboys and Quenton Nelson of the Indianapolis Colts.

“That Kansas City franchise tagged Smith at $23.4 million says a lot about the quality of the player,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote. “The Chiefs are often salary cap-strapped and aren’t afraid to let marquee free agents walk … but Smith is too unique to escape the Chiefs’ facility.”

Trey Smith was a five-star prospect in 2017

“Power, brute strength, physicality — he’s a people-mover and a people-stopper,” an AFC executive told ESPN.

Smith was a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, selected by Kansas City with the 226th overall pick after his blood clot issues at Tennessee hurt his NFL Draft stock. ESPN recently ranked Smith as the best 226th overall pick in NFL Draft history.

“Smith was a first-round talent in 2021,” Fowler wrote for ESPN, “but fell to the (sixth) round as some teams were not comfortable with his medical profile, due to a heart condition detected while at Tennessee. He has overcome that to become a premier player.”

‘He’s got elite hands, and he is great at finishing his blocks’

Smith was a five-star in-state prospect out of University School of Jackson in the 2017 recruiting class. He was ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect in the country, the No. 1 interior offensive lineman and the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee, before committing to and signing with the Vols.

He played in 42 games over four seasons at Tennessee, before moving on to the NFL and winning back-to-back Super Bowls with Kansas City — Super Bowl LVII in February 2023 and Super Bowl LVIII in February 2024 — as one of the best interior offensive linemen in the league. The Chiefs played in three straight Super Bowls, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX in February.

“Smith’s 75.1 run block win rate ranks third among (interior offensive line) group,” Fowler wrote, “and he received several first-place votes because of it. As one NFL coordinator said, ‘He’s got elite hands, and he is great at finishing his blocks.’”

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