Trent McDuffie Earned Two All-Pro Honors — So Why Is the NFL Paying Him $4M Less Than a One-Time Pro Bowler?

Trent McDuffie has quietly become one of the NFL’s elite cornerbacks. The 24-year-old Kansas City Chiefs star earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2023 and followed it up with a second-team selection in 2024. Yet despite those accolades, McDuffie will earn nearly $4 million less than some of his peers — and all because of a technical rule in the NFL’s contract structure.

This week, the Chiefs exercised McDuffie’s fifth-year option, keeping him under contract through the 2026 season at $13.632 million. While that number might sound generous, it could have been $17.595 million — nearly $4 million more — if McDuffie had been selected to just one Pro Bowl.

Under the NFL’s 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement, fifth-year option salaries for first-round picks are based not on All-Pro honors, but Pro Bowl selections. That distinction has become a lightning rod for criticism, especially when players like McDuffie — recognized by analysts and coaches as elite — earn less than players who made the Pro Bowl through fan voting or as alternates.

McDuffie, to his credit, isn’t bitter.

“You want to get paid the most for what you do, but at the end of the day, my job was to come here and be successful with the team,” he said. “So when you talk about money, that will always come. As long as I’m doing my job on the field, that will come.”

The Chiefs appear committed to keeping McDuffie long-term, with general manager Brett Veach confirming the team will enter extension talks after finalizing other deals. Still, the situation highlights a growing disconnect between league-recognized performance and how contracts are valued.

For now, McDuffie is focused on winning — not worrying about what the formula says he’s worth. But make no mistake: his play speaks for itself, and the payday he’s earned will come sooner or later.