NEWS
Kansas City Chiefs players will see a league minimum salary of $1.125 million for those with four or more accrued seasons in 2024. This figure rises to $1.21 million for players with seven accrued seasons. The Veteran Salary Benefit (VSB) enables these players to earn their minimum base salary.
As expected, the Kansas City Chiefs have not been active in free agency after a monster contract to keep defensive tackle Chris Jones with the team, likely for the remainder of the star’s career.The Chiefs did retain linebacker Drue Tranquill’s services with a moderate, multiyear contract. General manager Brett Veach’s highest profile signing from outside the organization has been giving former Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown a one-year deal worth up to $11 million.
All of Kansas City’s other signings of the new league year, however, have came with a league minimum base salary. Veach has, as usual, tapped into the veteran salary benefit to fill the roster. Like most years, the Chiefs also will designate a Four-Year Qualifying Player to keep a familiar face in Kansas City.Let’s look at what these signings might say about the roster security of some recently signed players.
The 2024 league minimum salary will be $1.125 million for players with four or more accrued seasons. It increases to $1.21 million at seven accrued seasons. The Veteran Salary Benefit (VSB) allows such players to earn their minimum base salary — at either qualifying amount — and only count against the salary cap at the minimum salary for players with two credited seasons ($985,000 for the 2024 league year). Players can receive a bonus of up to $167,500 without losing the benefit.
Since the start of free agency, the Chiefs have signed these players to VSB contracts: tight end Irv Smith Jr., defensive tackle Mike Pennel and safety Deon Bush.While we do not yet have terms of defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi’s new contract with the Chiefs, it is likely he has signed a VSB contract for the second consecutive season
the past, the Chiefs have generally given the extra compensation as a signing bonus. Per Spotrac, however, none of these players have a signing bonus listed. Bush and Smith have the $167,500 listed as a roster bonus — meaning they must actually make the team out of training camp to see the money. Pennel appears to have received no bonus money.
All players have some guaranteed salary of their veteran minimum, led by Bush’s $500,000. However, the veteran had a $350,000 guarantee last offseason and still was cut out of training camp. He would later rejoin the active roster after spending most of the year on the Chiefs’ practice squad. Pennel and Smith each have slightly less than $400,000 guaranteed. While we do not know the specifics of individual contracts, it is likely that money potentially earned on the practice squad, if cut, would negate the small salary guarantees.
As shown with Bush last season, a small salary guarantee on a VSB contract likely secures a place on the practice squad — but not necessarily the active roster. With the Chiefs reportedly talking to multiple tight ends earlier this month at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Smith’s presence will likely not affect Kansas City’s draft plans at the position.
Defensive tackle will be interesting to watch in training camp with Pennel and Nnadi likely on similar contracts. In addition, veteran defensive tackle Isiah Buggs — who signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs last month after joining their practice squad for the postseason — also received a small bonus and salary guarantee. Depending on what happens with next month’s draft, Buggs, Nnadi, and Pennel possibly will compete in training camp for one or two spots in the defensive line rotation.
Last week, we learned that defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton would be returning to Kansas City on a fully guaranteed one-year contract. As the terms became available, we learned that Wharton would be receiving the Chiefs’ Four-Year Qualifying Player funds. This designation gives teams an uncapped allowance ($1.45 million for 2024) in order to retain one or two players who have been with a team uninterrupted for four consecutive seasons.
The Chiefs are giving Wharton the entire amount, which added to his $1.125 million minimum base, and a $167,500 signing bonus allows him to earn $2.74 million in the upcoming season. His cap hit, however, will only be $1.29 million.The Chiefs use this cap-saving technique almost annually, with guard Nick Allegretti receiving the funds in 2023. It has also generally meant a swan song in Kansas City. Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson—2020’s Four-Year Qualifying Player—is the last recipient to return to the Chiefs in the following season. With his compensation guaranteed, we can put Wharton firmly onto roster projections, barring health.
While the Chiefs carry cornerback L’Jarius Sneed’s $19.8 million franchise tag number (very possibly into the season), spending will likely be limited. The Chiefs may add a bigger name as free agency drags on and prices drop, but most remaining moves will likely be VSB contracts.Veach’s contract structures of this offseason show that such players will need to stay hungry and compete to be a part of the Chiefs’ upcoming “three-peat” bid
NEWS
Just In: As TikTok faces a potential ban in the United States, the search for a new short-video platform is heating up, and one app has quickly risen to the top: Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote in English.
With TikTok’s US future uncertain, RedNote has surged to the number one spot in the Apple App Store’s free app rankings in the country.
What is RedNote?
Launched in 2013 by Charlwin Mao Wenchao and Miranda Qu Fang, RedNote was initially a shopping guide for Chinese tourists. Now, it has grown into a major social media platform and a strong contender in the short-video space.
With over 300 million monthly active users, the app has gained massive traction, particularly among younger users in China, and is currently leveraging its influencer-driven strategy to generate significant profits.
With an interface that resembles Pinterest, RedNote’s success lies in its ability to blend social media with e-commerce, allowing users to discover and purchase products through influencer-generated content. RedNote’s influence is rapidly expanding, with reports indicating it could reach over $1 billion in profits by 2024, potentially leading to an IPO.
RedNote’s rise amid TikTok’s troubles
RedNote’s surge in popularity comes as TikTok faces mounting pressure in the US. Following a bipartisan law passed in April, which requires TikTok to either sell or face a ban by January 19, RedNote is capitalizing on the uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future.
The law was introduced due to concerns over privacy and national security, with lawmakers fearing that the Chinese government could exploit TikTok for surveillance and covert influence operations.
Some U.S. users have labelled themselves “TikTok refugees” as they encourage others to download RedNote to send a message to the U.S. government and companies like Meta. This surge in activity has also seen RedNote push past other platforms, such as TikTok’s sister app, Lemon8, in the App Store rankings.
If TikTok’s US arm isn’t sold by the deadline or the ban isn’t lifted, the app will likely be removed from major app stores. In the meantime, social media users are quick to jump in their two cents, some humorously speculating if RedNote could be the new TikTok—tapping into the growing buzz around the app’s rapid rise.
CELEBRITY
Angry Patrick Mahomes says he will LEAVE the NFL and accuses the NFL of risking player safety before huge run of Chiefs games “If there’s no changes, I will leave” – Full Story Inside
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have an extremely congested schedule coming up – and the passer is far from thrilled with the NFL.
The two-time defending champions will embark on a stretch of three games in 11 days beginning this weekend when they face the Browns on Sunday, before hosting the Texans on December 21 and then traveling to the Steelers on Christmas.
And while the Chiefs are sitting pretty atop the AFC with a 12-1 record, Mahomes seems to be dreading his team’s next couple of weeks.
‘It is not a good feeling,’ he told reporters on Wednesday, per ESPN. ‘I’m excited to play on Christmas to hopefully get back from what we did last year [when the Chiefs lost to the Raiders], but you never want to play this many games in this short of time.
‘It’s just not great for your body. But at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.’
Mahomes added, ‘All you can do is focus on the game and the practice that you had that day. I try to prepare my body all year long for this stretch by tailoring my workouts, tailoring how you practice and you prepare. The coaches do a great job of taking care of us on the practice field. We practice hard as anybody, but they know how to kind of dial it back when we need it.’
In addition to the Chiefs, the Texans, Steelers and Ravens will also be playing three games in the next 11 days.
Crucially, though, the Ravens and Texans are coming right off of a bye in Week 14, while the Steelers had their break in Week 9.
The Chiefs haven’t had a rest since they returned from their Week 6 bye – a fact that defensive star Chris Jones was eager to point out.
‘This is one thing I’m doing this offseason is I’m going to the NFLPA, especially with us having three games in [an 11-day] span, that we’re mandatory to have a late bye week,’ he said.
‘With our schedule, it’s kind of awkward, to say the least. … That’s a conversation to have this offseason. If a team has somewhat of a schedule like that, they should get a late-season bye. We don’t need a Week [6] bye … Give it to us in Week 8, Week 10, something like that.’
Mahomes and Co. will have a week-and-a-half to recover after their Christmas Day game before facing the Broncos in Week 18 on January 5.
And if Kansas City manages to wrap up a first-round playoff bye before Week 18 – as they currently have a two-game AFC lead over the Bills – Mahomes and the team’s other starters could be held out of the final regular season game.
The quarterback then wouldn’t play until January 18 or 19 in the divisional round.
CELEBRITY
Selena Gomez, 32, Is Engaged to Benny Blanco, 36! Star Flaunts Massive Diamond Ring, Shares Sweet Photos, Hilarious Proposal Clips – and Reveals the Wedding Date Along With Another Shocking Surprise: “Our Prayers Have Been Answered, We’re Expecting…”
Selena Gomez shocked fans on Wednesday night by revealing she is now engaged to her boyfriend Benny Blanco after a year and a half of dating.
The singer, 32, revealed the news on Instagram, sharing the first photos of her massive diamond engagement ring with her 422million followers.
‘forever begins now..’ captioned the Who Said singer. She also included a photo of herself showing off her ring for the camera as Blanco, 36, wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head.
Blanco — a famed music producer — seemingly popped the question during a romantic nighttime picnic featuring Taco Bell.
The couple received an outpouring of love from theor A-list celebrity friends, including Cardi B, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Gomez’s BFF Taylor Swift.
Swift — who has been friends with Gomez since 2008 — offered to be the couple’s ‘flower girl.’
Blanco himself also left a cheeky comment in which he referred to Gomez as his ‘wife.’
‘hey wait… that’s my wife,’ wrote the musician, who earned nearly 150,000 ‘likes.’
Gomez has been dating Blanco since June 2023, though she did not confirm the relationship until that December. At the time, she used Instagram to confirm to fans that she’d been secretly dating the hitmaker for six months and that he was her ‘absolute everything.’
Previously, the Wolves songstress dated The Weeknd, Zedd, Nick Jonas, Taylor Lautner and was linked to a number of other stars, including Zayn Malik and The Chainsmokers’ Andrew Taggart. She also famously had an on-and-off relationship with Justin Bieber, 30, that spanned eight years, before they called it quits in 2018. He is now married to model Hailey Bieber, 28, and they welcomed a baby son in August.
Before getting romantic, Gomez and Blanco were friends for over a decade and even worked on music together.
He has produced three of the singer’s biggest hits, including the 2021 tune I Can’t Get Enough and 2015’s Same Old Love.
Selena Gomez shows off engagement ring from fiance Benny Blanco. Last month, Blanco revealed that it was Gomez who made the first move.
‘She asked me out. It was crazy, it was crazy. She literally asked me… like we were just talking, and then she said, “You wanna get dinner?” And I went to the dinner, and I had no idea,’ he explained on Kai Cenat’s Twitch stream.
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Just In: As TikTok faces a potential ban in the United States, the search for a new short-video platform is heating up, and one app has quickly risen to the top: Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote in English.
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