Patrick Mahomes

Football player

• Born: September 17, 1995
• Place of Birth: Tyler, Texas

Significance: A former Texas Tech University quarterback, Patrick Mahomes was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League in 2017 and won his first Super Bowl with the team in February 2020. Mahomes won his second Super Bowl with the Chiefs in 2022 and claimed his third Super Bowl victory in 2023.

Background

Patrick Lavon Mahomes II was born on September 17, 1995, in Tyler, Texas. He was the first of two sons born to Randi Martin and Pat Mahomes Sr., who later divorced. He also has a younger half-sister from his mother’s remarriage. Mahomes’s father was a professional baseball pitcher who played for several Major League Baseball (MLB) teams between 1992 and 2003, and Mahomes grew up immersed in the world of sports. As a teenager, he attended Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas, where he played football, baseball, and basketball. In his role as quarterback, he helped the school claim its first district football title in program history. Mahomes’s performance as a member of the school’s football team drew the attention of several college football programs. Also a talented baseball pitcher, Mahomes was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the thirty-seventh round of the 2014 MLB Draft but did not sign with that franchise, instead choosing to further hone his athletic talents in college. He graduated from Whitehouse High School in 2014 and committed to Texas Tech University.

A marketing major, Mahomes played multiple sports at Texas Tech University, including baseball and football. He dropped baseball after his freshman season, however, instead shifting his focus solely to his work with the Red Raiders football team, which competed within the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Mahomes served as a starting quarterback for all three seasons he played. During his junior season, his final outing with Texas Tech, Mahomes led the country with 5,052 passing yards in 12 games and became one of the top-ranked players in the NCAA and in the Big 12 conference. He left the university following his junior season to play in the National Football League (NFL).

Professional Career

In April 2017, Mahomes was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. The tenth overall draft pick, he signed with the team in July of that year. Mahomes played in one game during his first season with Kansas City, making his debut in a successful December matchup against the Denver Broncos. Kansas City went on to play against the Tennessee Titans in the American Football Conference (AFC) Wild Card Game, but Mahomes did not play during that postseason outing. He went on to serve as Kansas City’s starting quarterback for the 2018 season, during which he led the league with 50 passing touchdowns, the most of anyone in the NFL that season, and completed 383 passes for a career-high 5,097 yards. In recognition of his performance, Mahomes was named the 2018 NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP). Kansas City ended the season ranked first in the AFC West division and proceeded to the playoffs, during which Mahomes and his teammates beat the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC divisional playoffs before losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.

Over the course of the 2019 season, Mahomes completed 319 passes for 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns in 14 games. Kansas City again finished the season ranked first in the AFC West and began their playoffs campaign with successful games against the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans. The team then beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, claiming the franchise’s first championship since 1969. Mahomes personally accumulated ten passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns during Kansas City’s playoffs campaign and was subsequently named the 2019 Super Bowl MVP.

Mahomes signed a ten-year contract extension with Kansas City in July 2020. Despite a pause in the 2020 season due to the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, Mahomes played in 15 games over the course season, throwing a career-high 390 passes for 4,740 yards and 38 touchdowns. He was also selected for his third consecutive Pro Bowl game. Mahomes and his teammates again proceeded to the playoffs, beating the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills in the early stages of the tournament, but were unsuccessful in defending their championship title against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.

In 2021, Mahomes led Kansas City through another winning season; however, the team lost the AFC Championship Game to the Cincinnati Bengals. Bouncing back in 2022, Mahomes had another championship season with Kansas City. He broke several league and team records and was selected for his fifth Pro Bowl. Mahomes led Kansas City to another Super Bowl win and was both the game and league MVP.

In 2023, the Chiefs restructured Mahomes's contract agreement with the team, which resulted in a total compensation package of $210.6 million distributed between 2023 and 2026. The deal marked the most money paid to a player over the course of four seasons in NFL history. During the 2023 season, Mahomes made his two-hundredth touchdown pass in the eighty-fourth game of his NFL career, breaking Dan Marino's record as the fastest quarterback in NFL history to achieve the 200 passing touchdowns milestone. Among Mahomes's achievements in the 2023 season included a completion percentage of 67.2 percent, the highest completion percentage of his career up to that point. The Chiefs triumphed in the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens and headed to the 2024 Super Bowl.

In the 2023 postseason, Mahomes and the Chiefs again faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. Mahomes led the Chiefs to victory with a three-yard touchdown pass to Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman in a 25–22 win during the overtime period of the game, the second time in NFL history that a Super Bowl game went into overtime. The Chiefs' Super Bowl LVIII victory marked Mahomes's third Super Bowl win of his career and the second Super Bowl win in a row for the Chiefs, the first time a team secured consecutive Super Bowl victories since the New England Patriots nearly two decades earlier in Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX. Mahomes also earned his third Super Bowl MVP title.

Impact

Widely recognized for his contributions to professional football, Mahomes set several records during his first seven seasons with Kansas City, including becoming the franchise’s first quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in 8 consecutive games, breaking the franchise record for most single-season passing touchdowns with 31, and becoming the fastest player in NFL history to earn 5,000 passing yards, completing that milestone in just 13 career games. In 2023, he became the fastest quarterback in NFL history to achieve 200 passing touchdowns, hitting the milestone in the eighty-fourth game of his career. He also received several honors for his work during the 2018 season, including recognition as the NFL Associated Press offensive player of the year. He was awarded the ESPY for Best NFL Player at the ESPN award show in 2019 and 2023, as well as won the ESPY for Best Male Athlete in 2023. In 2022, Mahomes received both the league MVP award and the Superbowl MVP award. He attained his third Super Bowl MVP title in 2024. Mahomes was ranked fourth in the NFL Network’s NFL Top 100 list of players for 2019, a ranking determined by active NFL players. He retained his number-four ranking in the following year’s NFL Top 100 list. In 2022, Mahomes was ranked number eight. He was ranked first in the NFL Top 100 list in 2023.

In addition to his performances on the field, Mahomes gained recognition for speaking out against racial injustice—calling specifically for the NFL to condemn racism—during the aftermath of George Floyd’s death by Minneapolis police officers and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests.

Personal Life

Mahomes announced his engagement to longtime girlfriend Brittany Matthews, a former professional soccer player and a part-owner of the Kansas City National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) team, in 2020. The couple married in 2022. Their first child, a daughter named Sterling Skye Mahomes, was born in 2021; and their son, Patrick Mahomes III, was born in November 2022. Mahomes lives with his family in Kansas City.

In 2019, Mahomes established the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation to support underprivileged youth with initiatives that focus on improving health, wellness, and access to resources. In July 2020, Mahomes became a part owner of the Kansas City Royals MLB franchise.

Bibliography

Baca, Michael. “Top 100 Players of 2022, Nos. 10-1: Tom Brady No. 1 One More Time.” NFL.com, 28 Aug. 2022, www.nfl.com/news/top-100-players-of-2022-nos-10-1-tom-brady-no-1-one-more-time. Accessed 3 Apr. 2023.

Brisco, Joshua. “Patrick Mahomes on the Chiefs’ Mood after Losing Super Bowl LV: ‘We’re Going to Be Back.’” SportsIllustrated, 10 Feb. 2021, www.si.com/nfl/chiefs/gm-report/patrick-mahomes-after-losing-super-bowl-lv-were-going-to-be-back. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

Gordon, Grant. "Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes Reaches 200 Career TD Passes Faster Than Any QB in History." NFL.com, 1 Oct. 2023, www.nfl.com/news/chiefs-patrick-mahomes-reaches-200-career-td-passes-faster-than-any-qb-in-histor. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.

Grathoff, Pete. “Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Reportedly Working to Be More Efficient as a Quarterback.” The Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2021, www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/for-petes-sake/article250501119.html. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

Gutierrez, Paul. "Patrick Mahomes Wins Super Bowl MVP for Third Time." ESPN, 11 Feb. 2024, www.espn.com/nfl/story/‗/id/39509440/patrick-mahomes-wins-super-bowl-mvp-third. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.

McLaughlin, Kelly. “Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ Fiancée Brittany Matthews Has Built Her Own Sports Empire as a Professional Soccer Player, Part Owner of a Women’s Soccer Team, and a Fitness Guru.” BusinessInsider, 22 Feb. 2021, www.businessinsider.com/patrick-mahomes-girlfriend-brittany-matthews-relationship-high-school-sweethearts-2019-12. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

“Patrick Mahomes.” Kansas CityChiefs, 2023, www.chiefs.com/team/players-roster/patrick-mahomes/. Accessed 3 Apr. 2023.

Scipioni, Jade. “Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Doing Business Deals: ‘I Watch Mark Cuban a Lot.’” CNBC, 10 Apr. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/04/09/chiefs-patrick-mahomes-on-business-deals-i-watch-mark-cuban-a-lot.html. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.

Skipper, Clay. “How Patrick Mahomes Became the Superstar the NFL Needs Right Now.” GQ, 14 July 2020, www.gq.com/story/patrick-mahomes-cover-profile-august-2020. Accessed 22 Apr. 2021.

Smith, Coral. "Top 100 Players of 2023, Nos. 10-1: Patrick Mahomes Reigns Supreme again." NFL.com, 7 Aug. 2023, www.nfl.com/news/top-100-players-of-2023-nos-10-1-patrick-mahomes-justin-jefferson. Accessed 11 Apr. 2024.

Talbot, Nicholas. “In the Spotlight: Mahomes’ Childhood Prepared Him for Big Stage at Tech.” Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 11 Sept. 2015, www.lubbockonline.com/article/20150911/SPORTS/309119770. Accessed 19 Apr. 2021.