Chiefs Owner Clark Hunt Says Tyreek Hill's Improved Maturity Justifies His Contract Extension

There was plenty of question marks in Kansas City regarding the status of wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who had been accused of child abuse during the NFL offseason. After a brief holdout, Hill returned to the Chiefs in training camp, and the team signed him to a lucrative contract extension just before the start of the season.

On Tuesday, a few days ahead of Super Bowl LIV, Chiefs part-owner and chairman Clark Hunt commented on the controversial wideout's extension, claiming Hill's increased maturity has validated the lucrative contract.

“We never had any issues with him,” Hunt said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN.com. “He always was where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing, accountable to the team, listening to his coaches... Certainly I sense a heightened level of maturity from him this year, which is probably a byproduct of the challenges he went through earlier this year.”

While Hill is an extremely talented wideout, he had plenty of red flags when entering the NFL in 2016. Despite pleading guilty to punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend, the Chiefs selected him in the fifth round of that year's draft.

This past April, audiotape surfaced of Hill and his girlfriend discussing injuries to their young son, which were believed to be caused by the Chiefs receiver. However, the Johnson County District Attorney's Office declined to press charges.

Prior to the start of the regular season, the Chiefs signed Hill to a three-year, $54 million deal, with $35 million in guaranteed money.

Even with the questionable past and the allegations this past spring, Hunt remained confident in Hill to stay out of further trouble. Now, Hunt thinks that Hill's personal growth has validated signing him to such an extensive deal.