KANSAS CITY, MO (May 22, 2019) The NFL has announced that Kansas City has been selected to host the 2023 NFL Draft. The announcement was made today at the annual Spring League Meeting in Key Biscayne, FL following a review of the proposal by the Super Bowl & Major Events Advisory Committee and full ownership.

The 2023 NFL Draft will take place in Kansas City in the iconic area around Union Station and the National World War I Museum and Memorial and will bring together fans to celebrate one of the most-anticipated sports events of the year.

In celebration of this announcement, buildings and landmarks within the Kansas City skyline will be decorated in red light tonight. A local press conference will be held on Thursday, May 23 at 8:30am at Harvey’s in the Grand Hall at Union Station. Representatives from the City of Kansas City, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Sports Commission will be available to answer questions. Please click here to access supporting images and video.

“We are excited to work with the Kansas City Chiefs, the City of Kansas City, and the Kansas City Sports Commission to showcase the area for a week-long celebration of football that will be watched by millions of fans,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We know Chiefs fans will come out to celebrate along with thousands of fans from teams around the country for an incredible experience as we welcome the next
generation of NFL players.”

As part of the event, the NFL Draft Experience – a massive free football festival – will allow fans of all teams to participate and test their football skills, enjoy interactive exhibits and autograph sessions, and take pictures with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Draft Experience will be open all three days of the event.

“This is a historic day for Kansas City and Chiefs Kingdom, and we are thrilled to be named the host city for the 2023 NFL Draft,” says Clark Hunt, Chairman & CEO of the Kansas City Chiefs. “Today’s announcement would not have been possible without the tireless work of Kathy Nelson, the Kansas City Sports Commission and the Kansas City civic community. It was a tremendous team effort, and we look forward to continuing to work together to showcase Kansas City on the national stage in 2023. Chiefs Kingdom is home to the most passionate fans in the world, and I know they will make Kansas City proud as the host of one of the NFL’s premiere events.”

“Kansas City and Chiefs Kingdom are thrilled to have been selected by the NFL to host this prestigious event,” says Kathy Nelson, President & CEO of the Kansas City Sports Commission. “Hometown pride runs deep in the Midwest. We are excited to show the world our unparalleled passion for sports – especially our passion for professional football. Fans from every corner of the country should look forward to experiencing Kansas City’s hospitality, our vibrant food scene, innovative neighborhoods, historic attractions and a whole lot of fun in 2023. Thank you to our city leaders, our community partners and the Kansas City Chiefs for the collaborative effort in attracting the NFL Draft to our region.”

The NFL Draft has become one of the biggest and most-anticipated sporting events of the year. The 2019 Draft reached new heights and record numbers as the highest-rated and most-watched Draft ever, eclipsing previous records set in 2018. The 2019 Draft was broadcast over three days and attracted more than 47.5 million total viewers and over 600,000 in attendance. The NFL Draft achieved a combined 3.9 HH rating and average of 6.1 million viewers across the broadest distribution including NFL Network, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, as well as NFL and ESPN digital and social properties.

— Kansas City Sports Commission Release —

NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Gase needed just a few hours as the Jets’ acting general manager to pull off a big deal.

Two people with direct knowledge of the trade told The Associated Press that New York agreed Wednesday night to send linebacker Darron Lee to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth-round draft pick.

The deal is pending a physical, according to the people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither team had announced the move.

It came just hours after the Jets fired general manager Mike Maccagnan and installed Gase as the acting GM while the team begins a search for a replacement.

Lee was New York’s first-round pick in 2016, but was mostly disappointing in his three seasons with the Jets. He was suspended by the NFL for the final four games of last season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Lee’s spot on the Jets’ roster was uncertain after New York signed C.J. Mosley to anchor the inside linebacker position with Avery Williamson.

Lee had been the subject of trade rumors all offseason, especially after the Jets recently declined his fifth-year contract option for 2020. Many believed he would be dealt during the NFL draft. Less than three weeks later, Gase made it happen.

In three seasons, Lee had 241 tackles, four sacks, 11 passes defensed and three interceptions — all last season — including one returned for a touchdown. He was the 20th overall pick out of Ohio State in 2016.

Lee now goes to the Chiefs, who are switching from a 3-4 base defense under former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton to a 4-3 under new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.

Gone are veterans such as Justin Houston and Eric Berry, and second-year general manager Brett Veach has brought in Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark, Emmanuel Ogbah and Alex Okafor. But the Chiefs were still looking for help at linebacker.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Longtime NFL coach Gunther Cunningham, who emigrated from postwar Germany as a child and then dedicated his life to football, has died after a brief illness. He was 72.

Cunningham’s wife, Rene, said in a statement that he died Saturday.

Cunningham spoke no English when his family arrived in the U.S., and he was ridiculed for both his accent and ancestry as a child. But he developed into a standout prep football player in California and earned a scholarship to play linebacker at Oregon.

He eventually coached the Ducks along with Arkansas, Stanford and California before spending time in the CFL. He arrived in the NFL as an assistant with the Colts in 1982, then worked with the Chargers and Raiders before making a name for himself with the Kansas City Chiefs.

He went 16-16 during two years as their head coach.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt announced on Saturday that former offensive guard Brian Waters will be the 2019 inductee into the Chiefs Hall of Fame. Waters is the 49th individual and 45th player to earn this coveted honor. The official enshrinement ceremony into the Chiefs Hall of Fame will be held during Chiefs Alumni Weekend at Arrowhead Stadium this fall.

“In his 13 seasons with the Chiefs, Brian Waters was a fixture on some of the best offensive lines in franchise history,” Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said. “Although he was undrafted coming out of college, Brian made the most of his opportunity here in Kansas City, and his work ethic, talent and toughness made him an undisputed leader on the field and in the locker room. Brian also has a tremendous heart of service, and his commitment to the Kansas City community earned him the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2009. We look forward to adding Brian’s name to the Ring of Honor at Arrowhead this fall.”

Over 13 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs (2000-10), the New England Patriots (2011) and the Dallas Cowboys (2013), Waters played in 186 games with 170 starts, earning six Pro Bowl selections and two first-team All-Pro recognitions by the Associated Press. He became the first offensive lineman to be named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week, which occurred following Kansas City’s 56-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons on October 24, 2004 when the team rushed for an NFL record eight touchdowns in the game.

During Waters’ time with the Chiefs, he helped pave the way for each of the top four individual single-season rushing performances in franchise history. He was also on the field for three of the top five individual single-game rushing efforts in club annals, including RB Jamaal Charles’ franchise-record 259-yard performance at Denver (1/3/10). In 2004, he teamed with Pro Football Hall of Fame G Will Shields to form the first tandem of Pro Bowl guards from the same team since Larry Allen and Nate Newton did it for Dallas following the 1995 season. He and Shields also became the first guard duo from the same team to be named to three-consecutive Pro Bowls (2004-06).

In 2009, the entire National Football League community honored Waters as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year winner for his on-field accomplishments, as well as his commitment to community outreach. Waters became the fifth member of the Chiefs to receive this honor, tying the Chiefs for the most award winners in the NFL. Since the launch of the “Brian Waters 54 Foundation” in 2004, tens of thousands of children and families in the Greater Kansas City area as well as his home state of Texas have been positively impacted through his back-to-school program where he provided backpacks full of school supplies as well as haircuts and medical check-ups prior to the start of school. At the time of his Man of the Year selection, he had granted more than 80 college scholarships for low-income students. The 54 Foundation partnered with more than 20 different agencies annually.

Waters was signed by Dallas as an undrafted free agent and released after training camp in 1999. Following his release from Dallas, he arrived in Kansas City for a free agent workout in March of 2000 when the Chiefs convinced him to make the move to offensive line, a position he had never played. He spent the spring of 2000 playing for the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe where he started every game at center. The Waxahachie, Texas, native played in 44 games at North Texas, starting at tight end for three years before switching to defensive end prior to his senior season. Waters hauled in 86 receptions for 975 yards and nine touchdowns in three years as a tight end. As a senior defensive end, he recorded 45 tackles (32 solo) and 5.0 sacks, earning him first-team All-Big West Conference honors. He also caught four passes for 66 yards with one touchdown as a senior.

— Chiefs Communications —

Electronic Arts announced Thursday that the Kansas City quarterback and reigning NFL MVP will grace the cover of “Madden NFL 20” when it is released Aug. 2. The announcement was made before the first round of the NFL draft.

“It is awesome and definitely a full circle moment for me,” Mahomes said during an interview with The Associated Press before the cover was revealed.

In his first season as the Chiefs’ starting QB, Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns during the regular season and led them to the AFC championship game for the first time since 1993. He began last season with an overall Madden rating of 77 but finished the season with a 94.

Mahomes said he was approached by Electronic Arts prior to the Pro Bowl in late January about appearing on the cover. He also has given a lot of input on the development of the Face of the Franchise: QB1 feature that will be in this year’s game.

The feature allows players to create their own quarterback to play through the College Football Playoff, NFL combine, draft and career with a team.

“It has been great to be able to discuss my experiences going through everything, especially the draft process, and to see how that will develop in the game,” Mahomes said.

Mahomes, who is an avid video game player, said games like Madden have become more realistic and that the same concept of reading a playbook applies to learning football.

Players have appeared on the Madden cover since 1999. Mahomes is the eighth quarterback to be featured on the Madden cover and the second in the past three years. New England’s Tom Brady was on the cover two years ago.

Appearing on the cover has also had a stigma attached at times. Most of the cover athletes during the first 10 years suffered significant injuries the year they appeared. Recently retired Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was the most recent player to be beset by injuries when he started only six games in 2016.

Wide receiver Antonio Brown, who was traded from Pittsburgh to Oakland during the offseason, was on the cover last year.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs acquired pass rusher Frank Clark from the Seattle Seahawks for a package of picks Tuesday, then quickly agreed with him on a $105 million, five-year contract, as they continue to overhaul their much-maligned defense.

The Chiefs sent the No. 29 overall pick in this year’s draft and a second-round pick in 2020 to Seattle, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke about the trade terms and contract details on condition of anonymity because they were pending a physical.

Clark planned to head to Kansas City to complete that in the next 48 hours.

The trade, first reported by the NFL Network, also includes a swap of third-round picks in this year’s draft. That means the Chiefs will move up eight spots on Friday night.

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said last week that he was aggressively trying to upgrade the defense, and he acknowledge the window for winning a Super Bowl title began last season. That’s when Patrick Mahomes took over at quarterback and had an MVP season as a first-time starter, leading Kansas City to a third straight AFC West title and the conference championship game.

“We want to take the next step,” Veach said. “Certainly, it goes without saying our offense was pretty efficient last year and I think we are always looking to improve and get better.”

Seattle already had the 21st pick overall pick Thursday night, and now general manager John Schneider has an additional first-day selection as he begins rebuilding his own defense.

Clark was chosen by the Seahawks in the second round of the 2015 draft, though most agreed he was a first-round talent docked by off-the-field concerns. But he quickly became a dependable edge rusher, piling up 36 sacks over his first four seasons with a team-best 14 this past season.

The Seahawks placed the franchise tag on him after the season, but Clark had yet to sign the $17.128 million deal as rumors of a trade swirled. Several other teams also inquired about landing him ahead of the draft as Seattle tried to accumulate additional picks.

“This time, and the trade deadline, there’s some speculation about a lot of players,” Schneider said on Monday. “We’re involved in a lot of deals. We take a lot of pride in that. We wouldn’t be doing our jobs if we weren’t listening to everybody.”

Kansas City ultimately won the bidding for him.

Veach has spent most of the offseason rebuilding one of the league’s worst defenses, one that played a key role in their AFC title game collapse. They lost in overtime to New England when the Patriots won the coin toss, marched downfield and scored the winning touchdown in a 37-31 victory — never giving Mahomes and one of the NFL’s most potent offenses a chance with the ball.

In a matter of days, the Chiefs fired defensive coordinator Bob Sutton, hired new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and began sifting through their personnel as they switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 system.

They got rid of longtime safety Eric Berry and high-priced linebackers Justin Houston and Dee Ford, sending the latter to San Francisco for a second-round pick next year, and carved out enough cap space to find replacements. They signed safety Tyrann Mathieu, cornerback Bashaud Breeland, linebacker Damien Wilson and defensive end Alex Okafor in free agency, then traded safety Eric Murray to former GM John Dorsey and the Cleveland Browns for defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah.

All told, the Chiefs have signed or traded for five new defensive starters.

“We didn’t win the Super Bowl,” Veach said, “so we can get better. I think all across the board, there is talent that we can acquire, and we can get more depth on both sides of the football. I think that’s what makes it fun and exciting. There’s certainly some specific areas that may be more apparent. But I think the things you do in free agency protect yourself in the draft, so you don’t have to take a player that you feel is a second- or third-round value in the first round.”

The Seahawks have also been busy retooling their defense this offseason, adding defensive ends Cassius Marsh and Nate Orchard as they shopped Clark. They are expected to continue to target help in the pass rush and the defensive backfield in the first couple of rounds of the draft.

The additional first-round pick Thursday night also gives Seattle some flexibility.

Schneider has a tendency to move around in drafts, and it’s possible the Seahawks could trade down and acquire additional picks. They still only have five selections overall, and in nine previous drafts in charge, Schneider has never made fewer than eight selections.

— Associated Press —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With the NFL announcing that the Kansas City Chiefs 2019 schedule will be released on Wednesday evening, single-game and group tickets for all home games will go on sale Thursday, April 18.

Season Ticket Members will have a presale beginning Thursday at 8 a.m. The club will notify Season Ticket Members via email with instructions on how to participate.

In continuation of the team’s long-standing policy, the taxpayers of Jackson County, Missouri, will have a special ticket allotment to purchase single-game tickets for the 2019 season beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday. This extended period to purchase tickets from the allotment will last through 5 p.m. on Friday, April 26. Jackson County taxpayers purchasing tickets must come to the Arrowhead Stadium Ticket Office during normal business hours and have one form of identification that includes a photo of the purchaser and a personal 2018 Jackson County, Missouri, property tax receipt.

Tickets may be purchased at www.chiefs.com by the public beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday. All single-game and group tickets for Chiefs home games are subject to availability and dynamic pricing. Ticket delivery will be mobile entry only.

All fans, including Season Ticket Members and single-game purchasers, are encouraged to purchase parking passes in advance to secure the lowest price and reduce their time spent at the tollgate. Parking can be purchased during the ticket purchase process or in advance of the game at www.chiefs.com/parking. Parking is $300 if purchasing the full season in advance, or $40 per game when purchased in advance.

The Chiefs 2019 schedule will be announced on www.chiefs.com on Wednesday, April 17 at 7 p.m. CT, while the entire 2019 NFL schedule will be publicized on NFL Network, the NFL App and www.NFL.com.

— Chiefs Press Release —