Super Bowl champion and Kansas City Chiefs player Laurent Duvernay-Tardif poses next to an ice sculpture of the Vince Lombardi trophy during an event in Montreal on Feb. 9, 2020.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and the Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to a restructured deal for the Canadian offensive lineman.
The move helps the Super Bowl champions secure more cap space heading into this week’s NFL draft. Duvernay-Tardif’s agent, Sasha Ghavami, confirmed the agreement in an e-mail.
Exact details of the restructuring weren’t immediately known. Duvernay-Tardif reportedly had an US$8.9-million cap hit this season before redoing his deal.
“I am very happy to have agreed to terms on a restructured contract for the 2020 season with the Kansas City Chiefs,” Duvernay-Tardif said in a statement.
“This allows the team to create cap space and I am very excited to be able to defend our title for the upcoming season. We have a great opportunity to keep the core of the team to give us the best possible chances to have success.”
The 6-foot-5, 321-pound Duvernay-Tardif started all 14 regular-season games that he played at right guard last season with K.C., before to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in the Super Bowl for the franchise’s second NFL title but first in 50 years.
The 29-year-old native of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., signed a five-year, US$42.36-million extension with Kansas City in February 2017. The deal included US$20.2-million guaranteed and a US$10-million signing bonus.
K.C. drafted Duvernay-Tardif in the sixth round, No. 200 over all, in the 2014 NFL draft out of McGill University in Montreal. He has spent his entire pro career with the Chiefs.
In May, 2018, Duvernay-Tardif graduated from McGill’s Faculty of Medicine with a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery.