Chiefs restructure DE George Karlaftis’ contract; open $7.7 million in salary cap space

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - DECEMBER 07: George Karlaftis #56 of the Kansas City Chiefs rushes the passer during an NFL football game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on December 7, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) | Getty Images

A month after the NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs have still not signed their pair of first round selections, former LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane and Clemson defensive tackle Peter Woods.

After signing their other five rookies, we estimated the Chiefs to only be $5.5 million under the limit. That would barely be room to take on Woods' estimated $3.3 million 2026 cap charge. Delane's estimated first year cost alone is $7.6 million. We have known the front office would need to clear room to finish signing rookies.

We now know what that move is.

The #Chiefs converted $9.685M of George Karlaftis' salary into signing bonus, creating $7.7M of 2026 space.

KC now carries an estimated $13M of Top 51 cap space into June.

- Spotrac (@spotrac) May 27, 2026

Per Spotrac, the Chiefs have converted $9.7 million of base salary for defensive end George Karlaftis into a signing bonus. This will open $7.7 million in breathing room.

The Chiefs are now (temporarily) about $13.3 million under the salary cap. That number, however, will soon change when Delane and Woods are signed. Adding the remaining rookie contracts to the team's top 51 cap charges should leave the Chiefs with about $4.4 million in breathing room.

Because he is under contract through 2030, Karlaftis was always a strong candidate for a restructure. The Chiefs are able to spread the savings over the five allowable seasons. Karlaftis will play in 2026 with a salary cap charge of $7.4 million. His 2027 cap hit will now be $17.2 million. The pass rusher is scheduled for cap charges exceeding $23 million each season from 2028-30.