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Nobody Lost the Tyreek Hill Trade

October 23, 2026

On November 5, 2023, the Kansas City Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany — the first meeting between the teams since the trade. Tyreek Hill lined up across from the franchise he'd helped win a Super Bowl, wearing aqua. The Chiefs won 21-14.1

It was supposed to be a reckoning. Nineteen months earlier, Kansas City had traded the fastest man in football, and the football world had spent those months arguing about who'd won. The Frankfurt scoreboard offered an answer, but not the interesting one. The interesting answer is that the scoreboard was never the whole story — because the Tyreek Hill trade is the rare blockbuster where both teams got exactly what they wanted, and both were right.

The Adams Domino

This trade was never really about football. It was about Davante Adams.

In mid-March 2022, the Green Bay Packers traded Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, who signed him to a five-year, $141.25 million contract — the richest wide receiver deal in NFL history.2 Hill, who had one year left on his Chiefs deal, watched the numbers and recalibrated. He wanted more than Adams "in every respect," according to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio.2 NFL.com's Jeffri Chadiha reported it even more bluntly: Hill wanted to beat the Adams deal or he had no interest in staying in Kansas City — no hometown discount.3

Hill himself later confirmed the sequence on ESPN's "First Take." His agent Drew Rosenhaus called after the Adams deal and said they needed to get the Chiefs on the phone. Hill, who'd have been a free agent in 2023, was reluctant: "Drew, I don't want to break up something special ... let's at least maybe not top it, but at least get somewhere close to it."4

"Somewhere close" wasn't on offer. The Chiefs were already paying Patrick Mahomes on a ten-year extension worth up to $503 million, signed in 2020.3 General manager Brett Veach laid out the math plainly: "I felt like if we do [a contract for Tyreek Hill] here, we might be out of free agency the next two to three years."5 The Chiefs gave Rosenhaus permission to seek a trade. Two teams reached agreements — Miami and the Jets — and Hill chose.6

The Jets' offer, per Adam Schefter, was picks No. 35, 38, and 69 for Hill and No. 103 — no first-rounder, but equivalent value on the chart.6 Hill picked the Dolphins, the team whose offense he'd spend his offseasons watching from nearby, the team with no state income tax and a new offensive-minded head coach in Mike McDaniel.7

On March 23, 2022, the deal was done: Hill to Miami for a 2022 first-rounder (No. 29), a 2022 second-rounder (No. 50), a 2022 fourth-rounder, and 2023 fourth- and sixth-rounders.8 The Dolphins signed him to a four-year, $120 million extension with $72.2 million guaranteed — the largest receiver contract in league history by annual value.8

"It broke my heart when I had to sign with Miami," Hill said later.4 He meant it as a compliment to Kansas City. It also told you everything about why the trade happened: nobody wanted it except the math.

What Miami Bought

The Dolphins paid a fortune and got a bargain.

In 2022, Hill caught 119 passes for 1,710 yards — a franchise record — finished second in the NFL in receiving yards, and made first-team All-Pro.9 In 2023, he did it again and then some: 119 catches, 1,799 yards — another franchise record, and this time the most in the NFL — with 13 touchdowns, another first-team All-Pro nod, a sixth-place MVP finish, and second place in Offensive Player of the Year voting.10

Those were the two best receiving seasons in Dolphins history, back to back, by a wide margin. Miami made the playoffs in both years — consecutive postseason appearances for the first time in more than two decades.11 On the trade's third anniversary, Hill posted two words about it: "Changed my life."11

The bill came due eventually. Hill's production fell off in 2024, a dislocated knee and torn ACL ended his 2025 season in Week 4, and Miami released him in February 2026 — saving $22.8 million and making him a free agent for the first time in his career.10 But the trade itself delivered exactly what the Dolphins purchased: the most productive receiver in franchise history, at his absolute peak, for two seasons.

What Kansas City Built

Here's where the trade tree earns its keep. The Chiefs didn't just bank five picks — they re-spent them aggressively, and the re-spending is the story.

The first-rounder became Trent McDuffie. On draft night 2022, Kansas City packaged No. 29 with No. 94 and No. 121 and sent all three to New England for No. 21, drafting Washington cornerback Trent McDuffie.12 (Two of the three picks in that package — No. 29 and No. 121 — came from Miami in the Hill deal.) McDuffie was named first-team All-Pro in his second season and made the second team in 2024; the Chiefs exercised his fifth-year option while Buffalo — which had traded up for Kaiir Elam two picks later — declined Elam's.13 The Patriots spent the Hill-derived picks on guard Cole Strange (No. 29) and defensive back Jack Jones (No. 121).

The second-rounder became Skyy Moore. Kansas City flipped No. 50 to New England for No. 54 and a fifth-rounder, drafting Western Michigan receiver Skyy Moore at No. 54. (The Patriots took receiver Tyquan Thornton at No. 50.) Moore's NFL career has been a disappointment — bumpy sophomore season, injured reserve — which is worth stating honestly. Not every branch bears fruit.

The 2023 fourth-rounder became Rashee Rice. In the 2023 draft, the Chiefs sent No. 63, No. 122 (the Hill pick), and No. 249 to Detroit for No. 55 and No. 194, drafting SMU receiver Rashee Rice at No. 55.14 Rice led the country in regular-season receiving yards in 2022 (1,355) and became Mahomes's most trusted young target. The Lions eventually sent No. 122 to Arizona, who drafted guard Jon Gaines II. The 2023 sixth-rounder (No. 178) went to Dallas, who drafted defensive back Eric Scott Jr.

So the honest accounting of Kansas City's half: a first-team All-Pro cornerback, the quarterback's favorite young receiver, and a disappointing second-rounder — plus whatever the compensating flexibility bought in free agency. Veach's summary at the time: "I was happy we were able to get resources to help continue to build this thing for the next five, 10 years."5

The Scoreboard

The Chiefs won Super Bowls LVII and LVIII without Tyreek Hill. Mahomes won league MVP in 2022, throwing for over 5,200 yards and 41 touchdowns in the first season after the trade.15 The Dolphins, with the best receiver in franchise history, didn't win a single playoff game.

If "who won the trade?" means "who won the most games afterward," it's Kansas City, and it's not close. Skip Bayless, of all people, stated it cleanly: "The Chiefs won the Super Bowl. So in the end, they won the trade."16

But that's a narrow way to score a trade, and it misses what actually happened. Miami didn't trade for Hill to win the Chiefs' Super Bowls. They traded for him to become relevant, to give a third-year quarterback a reason to believe, to sell a vision. They got two historic seasons and back-to-back playoff trips. Hill got $72.2 million guaranteed and the bag he'd been chasing since the Adams deal reset the market. Kansas City got cap room, draft capital, an All-Pro corner, and — eventually — Hill's replacement, drafted with Hill's own pick.

Every party to this trade got what it was actually shopping for. That almost never happens. The usual blockbuster ends with one fan base writing apology letters and the other planning a parade. Here, the Dolphins got the best receiver they've ever had, the Chiefs got two championships and the next core, and the player got paid. The Frankfurt scoreboard said 21-14. The fuller accounting says: nobody lost.

Verification notes

A few specifics: the No. 29 pick was San Francisco's 2022 first-rounder before Miami acquired it in the 2021 Trey Lance trade — that chain is traced in "Three First-Round Picks for Four Starts". Skyy Moore was drafted at No. 54 (acquired by flipping No. 50), and his draft slot is per Pro Football Reference. The 2023 sixth-rounder (No. 178) was originally Chicago's, acquired by Miami in October 2021, before conveying to Kansas City in the Hill deal.17

Trade terms, teams, and dates verified against the site's trade tree for this deal and cross-checked with the sources below. Statistics from StatMuse and Pro Football Reference.

Sources

  1. Bundesliga.com — NFL in Germany: Chiefs beat Dolphins 21-14 in Frankfurt (Nov 5, 2023) — first NFL game in Germany; KC 21, MIA 14
  2. Sporting News — why the Chiefs traded Hill: the Adams domino — Hill wanted more than Adams "in every respect" (Florio); Adams 5yr/$141.25M
  3. Sports Illustrated — Hill would only stay if his deal beat Adams' — Chadiha: no hometown discount; Mahomes 10yr/$503M context
  4. Sporting News — Hill on First Take: the Rosenhaus call, "broke my heart" — "Drew, I don't want to break up something special"; "It broke my heart when I had to sign with Miami"
  5. Arrowhead Pride — Veach on choosing flexibility over Hill — "out of free agency the next two to three years"; "resources to help continue to build this thing for the next five, 10 years"
  6. theScore — trade terms and the Jets' competing offer — Schefter: 5 picks (No. 29, No. 50, 2022 4th; 2023 4th, 6th); Jets offered No. 35, 38, 69 for Hill + No. 103
  7. Sporting News — trade details and Hill's choice of Miami — both teams had deals in place; Hill chose Miami
  8. Sports Illustrated — blockbuster terms and $120M/$72.2M extension — Schefter's five-pick report; extension via Rosenhaus
  9. Sports Illustrated — one year later: lessons from the trade — 2022: 119 rec, 1,710 yds (franchise record), All-Pro; KC's Super Bowl LVII
  10. Yahoo Sports — Hill's release and Miami tenure — 2023: 1,799 yds (led NFL), 13 TDs, All-Pro, 6th MVP; Feb 2026 release saved $22.8M
  11. Sports Illustrated — third anniversary retrospective — back-to-back playoffs (first in 20+ years); "Changed my life"
  12. theScore — Chiefs trade up for McDuffie — No. 29 + No. 94 + No. 121 for No. 21
  13. Arrowhead Pride — McDuffie trade retrospective — first-team All-Pro (2nd season), fifth-year option exercised; Elam's declined
  14. theScore — Chiefs trade up for Rashee Rice — No. 63 + No. 122 + No. 249 for No. 55 + No. 194; Rice at No. 55
  15. Arrowhead Addict — Mahomes' MVP season without Hill — 5,200+ yds, 41 TDs, MVP 2022
  16. The Spun — Bayless: "The Chiefs won the Super Bowl. So in the end, they won the trade." — Nov 2023
  17. Football Trade Trees — Tyreek Hill (2022) trade tree — No. 29 originally San Francisco's, acquired by Miami in the March 26, 2021 Trey Lance trade; No. 54 became Skyy Moore; No. 178 originally Chicago's, sent to Miami on October 5, 2021 for Jakeem Grant
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About this article: it was drafted with AI assistance from the Football Trade Trees database and public reporting, then reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Email [email protected].