The Kansas City Chiefs and Eric Berry have a long history. Chiefs fans love him as they stood by him during his incredible comeback from cancer. He’s the easiest guy in the world to root for.
Chiefs fans want to keep Berry, who is set to be a free agent in March. There’s also a thing called a salary cap so it’s not as easy as giving Berry a blank check - ahem, Clark Hunt’s blank check - and asking him to name his price.
Because the Chiefs want Berry and Berry wants the Chiefs we’ve heard folks wonder if Berry would give the Chiefs a hometown discount.
Besides the fact that hometown discounts rarely exist in the NFL, Berry would have no reason to give the Chiefs one. He has earned a significant paycheck and if the Chiefs don’t give it to him there are probably a half dozen other teams that would. Or more.
Go back to last year. Berry was trying to set a new high mark in the safety market. They didn’t get a deal done and Berry was franchise tagged. There were some things from that negotiation leaked to the media intended to make the Chiefs look bad, which is clearly a sign of hard feelings.
What I’m saying is that, based on last year, I don’t expect this negotiation to be any easier or cheaper. All Berry has done since then is earn All-Pro with arguably his best season in the NFL. It’s not quite Flacco level but Berry has a ton of leverage - and he should use it.