KANSAS CITY Rock Ya-Sin Jersey , Mo. (AP) — signing quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a long-term contract, even though the NFL MVP won’t be eligible to sign an extension until after next season.Chiefs general manager Bret Veach said during a wide-ranging interview Thursday that some of the financial decisions made dating back to last offseason were done with Mahomes in mind, such as the way the franchise structured contracts and how they approached free agency and the draft.“We were prepared for Pat to have success and be a franchise quarterback,” Veach said, “so this process of structuring ourselves for the next three, four, five years started about a year ago.”In the ensuing 12 months, the Chiefs traded incumbent quarterback Alex Smith to Washington and handed the job to Mahomes, who threw for more than 5,000 yards along with 50 touchdown passes while leading the club to its third straight AFC West title and the conference championship game.The Chiefs lost in overtime to the Patriots, a defeat made even more frustrating by the fact that Kansas City lost the coin flip and Mahomes never had a chance with the ball in the extra session.Off the field, Mahomes has become one of the NFL’s biggest stars.With his moppy Mohawk, earnest attitude and game-changing ability, Mahomes became must-watch TV by the end of the season. He had the eighth-best selling jersey in the NFL http://www.indianapoliscoltsteamonline.com/ben-banogu-jersey , has been courted by a wave of sponsors and has led Las Vegas odds-makers to peg the Chiefs as Super Bowl favorites next season.Some suggest Mahomes could ultimately sign the first $200 million contract in NFL history when he is eligible for an extension after next season.“Even last year, we were putting a plan together,” Veach said. “I think we have a good plan, and everything we do structure-wise will allow for necessary room moving forward.”Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers set the market with a $134 million, four-year extension last offseason, while Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan signed a $150 million, five-year deal. Rodgers has the average highest salary while Ryan had the highest signing guarantee of $94.5 million.Whatever it takes, Veach is intent on making sure the Chiefs have flexibility to do it.“Obviously there’s tremendous talent, and we had seen obviously a chance to see a lot of his work in college, and we saw all last year,” Veach said. “You knew it was inevitable it was coming. But what surprised me was the ease at which he did it. Even great players when they’re young, you anticipate a wall at some point after seven, eight weeks, but there was never really a time.”BASKETBALL CAUTIONVideo of Mahomes making a slick spin move during a pickup basketball game went viral this week Parris Campbell Jersey , and Veach said he’s already spoken to his quarterback about being careful off the field.“It was obviously a light-hearted discussion,” he said. “The problem with Pat is he does everything 100 mph and so dang competitive. I was like, ‘Hey man, you’re breaking a lot of ankles out there. Don’t break your own.’ And he was like, ‘No, no, we got that.'”STAR SAFETYEric Berry hardly played last season because of a mysterious heel injury, though he was on the field for the AFC title game. Veach said the highly-paid safety would discuss with doctors and the training staff whether to have surgery this offseason.“There’s so much medical information they are working through,” he said. “They’re going through all the postseason evals and exams and then sit down and put together a plan.”THE LINEBACKERSThe Chiefs are expected to switch from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3 under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and that could cause big personnel decisions. Veteran linebacker Justin Houston has the Chiefs’ biggest salary cap number at $21.1 million next season, while top pass rusher Dee Ford could be a candidate for the franchise tag as he hits free agency.“We are running a different scheme now and we started the process Monday of going through the roster, giving you a pure feel of strengths, weaknesses, where we can get better Will Harris Jersey ,” Veach said. “Dee is a player that has done so much for us. We’re excited about bringing him back.”OTHER CONTRACTSDefensive tackle Chris Jones and wide receiver Tyreek Hill are eligible for contract extensions this offseason, and Veach said those discussions could begin at the NFL combine.“We’ll have a lot of dialogue with their agents,” he said. “We want them to be here. I’m sure they want to be here and we want to keep this rolling.”HUNT’S FUTUREVeach danced around the question of whether the Chiefs would ever sign running back Kareem Hunt, whom they cut midway through the season after video surfaced of him kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel. Hunt remains on the commissioner’s exempt list, but other teams have expressed an interest in the former NFL rushing champion.“Our focus and our hopes with Kareem is he’s able to take the steps necessary to get his life in order, and do the right things,” Veach said. “Everything else after that is not as important.” LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Coach Matt Nagy is saving the big celebrations for later.He opted instead to spend “quality time” at home with his four sons, ate sushi, consumed “one beverage” and kept his eyes on the prizes still out there after the Chicago Bears clinched the NFC North.One he would love, though it probably won’t come gift-wrapped: A first-round bye.“You wanna ask me if I want the first-round bye, or the No. 1 seed? Absolutely, give it to me right now,” he said.The Bears completed their worst-to-first turnaround by securing their first division title and playoff appearance in eight years.Even better http://www.detroitlionsteamonline.com/austin-bryant-jersey , they did it by beating Aaron Rodgers and the rival Green Bay Packers on Sunday. But if they’re going to land a top-two seed and first-round bye, they still have some climbing to do.The Bears are third in the NFC behind the South champion New Orleans Saints and West champion Los Angeles Rams with two games to play. They visit San Francisco this week before closing the regular season at Minnesota.“It’s OK to celebrate and enjoy last night and yesterday,” Nagy said on Monday. “But we have bigger things that we’re trying to achieve. And I think that’s going to be the biggest challenge for us where we’re at is understanding, OK, we accomplished a good goal but that’s not enough.”The Bears (10-4) simply need a strong finish and some help.They trail New Orleans (12-2) by two games after the Saints beat Carolina 12-9 on Monday night and are one back of the Rams (11-3), though Chicago defeated Los Angeles on Dec. 9. The Bears are also two games up on NFC East leader Dallas.“There’s the ability for us to be, basically, four different seeds,” Nagy said. “Some are slimmer than others. But take that into account, it makes it easy. You go play, and you play to win and nothing changes. You literally control what you can control.”The way things play out this week could determine whether Nagy keeps his foot on the gas or rests players — particularly those who are banged up — when the Bears visit Minnesota. But if seeds are at stake heading into the regular-season finale, he likely will go full speed.“Unless you’re locked in and you can’t move, then you have to decide,” Nagy said. “To me that’s when you have to decide what you want to do. But right now Max Scharping Jersey , we have to win.”Simply being in this position is a welcomed change for Chicago.The drought between playoff appearances claimed three coaches and led to shrinking crowds at Soldier Field.“This was for the fans, this was for the organization and we are glad that we were able to do it,” cornerback Prince Amukamara said.With the Bears winning the North, at least one NFL team in 15 of the past 16 seasons has finished in first place in its division the season after finishing last or tied for last place.Nagy is Chicago’s first rookie coach with 10 wins since George Halas in 1920, when the franchise was in its inaugural season. With a 7-1 record at Soldier Field, Chicago matched its home win total over three seasons under former coach John Fox.But as good as that all sounds, the Bears want more.“It hasn’t happened yet,” star pass rusher Khalil Mack said. “We just got the NFC North. We got that title so far. We want to get this push. We can’t really get caught up in all of that. We have two more games we have to win.”NOTES: Though both players were still being evaluated, Nagy said he doesn’t think the injuries to S Eddie Jackson (sprained right ankle) and LB Aaron Lynch (elbow) are season-ending. Jackson picked off a tipped pass intended for Jimmy Graham at the goal line late in Sunday’s game, then had to be helped off the field when his leg bent awkwardly as he tried to slide on the return. That play also ended Aaron Rodgers’ NFL-record streak of 402 attempts without an interception. Lynch walked off the field clutching his right arm after he was hurt fighting a block on a run by Jamaal Williams in the third quarter.