Mahomes wants Mathieu with Chiefs as ‘long as I’m here’

Safety Tyrann Mathieu wants to stay with the Kansas City Chiefs as long as the club is willing to keep him.

If it were up to star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, he'd be Mathieu's teammate throughout the passer's entire Chiefs tenure.

"He's such a great leader on this team and obviously a special football player," Mahomes said, according to Grant Gordon of NFL.com. "You want him to be here for the long run and you can tell that Chiefs Kingdom is really behind him as the leader of that defense and a leader on this team. Definitely want him to be here as long as he can and as long as I'm here."

Mathieu is entering the final season of a three-year contract worth $42 million, and he'll make $14.8 million in 2021. The 29-year-old earned his third first-team All-Pro nod after racking up 62 tackles, six interceptions, and nine passes defended this past season. He's tallied 10 interceptions and 21 passes defended en route to two Super Bowl appearances with the Chiefs.

While it's unlikely that Mathieu would receive a deal to keep him with Mahomes into 2031, the versatile defensive back is prioritizing location and his relationship with the Chiefs' staff over future compensation.

"It's probably top of the list," Mathieu said.

"I've been through a lot in my life, so for me, I think holding onto certain relationships, I think that kind of outweighs any monetary thing, any short feeling or emotion I may be dealing with in the moment," he added.

Mathieu is now optimistic about getting an extension from the franchise after expressing pessimism in a since-deleted tweet in May.

The two-time Pro Bowler has been an ideal fit in Kansas City's secondary after spending five seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and one with the Houston Texans.

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