37 Reasons Why Patrick Mahomes Is the $500M Man

He's more than just a rich and famous NFL quarterback.

37 Reasons Why Patrick Mahomes Is the $500M Man

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is already one of the biggest stars in all of professional sports. And he's only 25.

He also makes $1.60 a second, $96 a minute, $5,742 an hour and $137,808 a day. Not bad for a quarterback who entered his freshman season at Texas Tech as the backup to Davis Webb.

But Mahomes is more than just a $500 million NFL quarterback. He has become one of the most influential people in the world.

His 10-year, $503 million contract is the largest contract in NFL history. Only soccer legend Lionel Messi, who signed a four-year, $673.9 million deal with FC Barcelona in 2017, has a bigger contract in sports history. That's some impressive company.

Patrick Mahomes got his contract extension in July 2020 after signing a four-year, $16.4 million contract as a rookie in 2017. The young gunslinger passed for 284 yards and no touchdowns in his first NFL season. In the three seasons after that, Mahomes has passed for 13,868 yards and 114 touchdowns.

His father, Pat Mahomes Sr., was a Major League Baseball pitcher for 11 seasons. Pat Mahomes played for six MLB teams and also spent several seasons playing in Japan. He played in the minor leagues for five seasons before settling his family in his home state of Texas.

Mahomes spent his childhood playing in MLB dugouts and around his father's teammates. One of his earliest impressions of what it took to be an elite athlete was when his father played for the Texas Rangers and he got to spend time around future MVP Alex Rodriguez.

Mahomes was a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball at Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas. In baseball, he was a top pitching prospect in the 2014 MLB draft but didn't get taken until the 37th round by the Detroit Tigers because of his commitment to football.

Mahomes reportedly could throw 93 miles an hour with his fastball and had one college pitching appearance at Texas Tech. As a freshman, Mahomes pitched an inning against Northern Illinois in 2015. It didn't go well. He walked two, hit a batter, and finished his college pitching career with a 99.00 ERA. He picked the right sport.

At Texas Tech, Mahomes set several NCAA passing records. Most notably, he set the NCAA record for single-game total offense with 819 yards in a 66-59 loss to Oklahoma and tied the NCAA record with 734 passing yards. The winning quarterback in that game? Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield.

Mahomes left Texas Tech with one year of eligibility remaining to enter the 2017 NFL draft, where he was originally projected as a first or second-round pick. At the NFL combine, he tied the record for fastest pass ever recorded with his passes clocked at 60 miles per hour and solidified his first-round projection.

Mahomes was the No. 10 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, but he wasn't even the first quarterback selected. The Chicago Bears selected Mitch Trubisky at No. 2 overall, which is a pick that could haunt the franchise for the next generation.

Mahomes played behind veteran quarterback Alex Smith as a rookie in 2017 on the Kansas City Chiefs. Smith made a big impression with Mahomes when he reached out to him on draft day after he was selected to welcome him to the team.

The relationship between Smith and Mahomes was never contentious, even though it was clear Mahomes was selected to eventually be Smith's replacement. Years later, Mahomes still looks at Smith as one of his mentors.

Mahomes was named the Chiefs starting quarterback in 2018 after Smith was traded to the Washington Football Team. Mahomes' first career touchdown pass was a 58-yard strike to Tyreek Hill in a 38-28 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in the season opener.

Mahomes was named NFL Most Valuable Player in his first year as a starter in 2018, as well as being named to the Pro Bowl and NFL All-Pro. He was the first NFL MVP in franchise history for the Chiefs.

Mahomes was only the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a single season. The other player to accomplish the feat was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in 2013.

The Chiefs hosted the first AFC championship game in Arrowhead Stadium history following the 2018 season. They lost to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in overtime, 37-31, and Brady sought out Mahomes for a one-on-one conversation afterward outside the Kansas City locker room.

Playing with a target, the Chiefs and Mahomes battled adversity all season in 2019. Mahomes missed two games because of an injured patella tendon, even though the injury was originally scheduled to keep him out for four weeks.

Mahomes rallied the Chiefs from a 24-0 deficit against the Houston Texans in their AFC playoff opener, leading the team with 41 unanswered points as part of a 51-7 run on the way to a 51-31 victory. The Texans still haven't recovered from the loss.

Mahomes rallied the Chiefs to a 35-24 win over the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game. Trailing 17-7, Mahomes sparked the comeback with a thrilling, 27-yard touchdown run.

Mahomes comes from a biracial background as the son of a Black father and white mother. Born in Tyler, Texas (population: 100,000), Mahomes said he did not experience less privilege because of his race and did not speak much on race issues in his first three seasons in the NFL.

But Mahomes identifies as a Black quarterback and recognized the importance of being the seventh Black starting quarterback to play in a Super Bowl. "The best thing about it is you’re showing kids that no matter where you grow up, what race you are, that you can achieve your dream," Mahomes said before the big game in 2020, according to The Undefeated. "For me, being a black quarterback — having a black dad and a white mom — it just shows that it doesn’t matter where you come from."

Trailing the San Francisco 49ers 20-10 in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LIV, Mahomes orchestrated his third consecutive postseason rally with a 21-0 run to close out the game.

That's why they call Mahomes "Showtime." It's one of many nicknames the young star has. Others include "Magic Man," "The Musician," "Fatrick," "The Gunslinger" and "Mahomeboy." And he added one more to the list: "Champ."

Mahomes was the youngest quarterback in NFL history to be named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player. At 24 years and 138 days old, he also became the youngest player in NFL history to win NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP honors, just beating out Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith.

It was the first Super Bowl appearance and win for the Chiefs in 50 years, dating back to Super Bowl IV. Before Mahomes joined the team, they'd only made one appearance in the AFC championship game, with Joe Montana as their quarterback in 1993.

Like most Super Bowl MVPs, Mahomes made the trip to Disney World the day after the Super Bowl. In typical Mahomes fashion, he brought 17 Make-A-Wish kids with him to Orlando who'd also attended the Super Bowl and spent the day with them.

Almost 1 million fans came out to see the Kansas City Chiefs in their Super Bowl parade. It was the second pro sports championship parade for Kansas City in four years following the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series in 2016.

Mahomes got engaged to his high school sweetheart, Brittany Matthews, in September 2020, in a suite at Arrowhead Stadium on the day he received his Super Bowl ring. Matthews is a former professional soccer player who played collegiately for the University of Texas.

Matthews announced she was pregnant and Mahomes was going to be a #GirlDad soon after their engagement. The couple announced the pregnancy on their Instagram accounts. The couple have yet to announce a due date, but it's thought the baby will be born in spring 2021.

Mahomes bought a minority ownership stake in the Kansas City Royals with part of his new fortune, which also includes massive philanthropic efforts. Mahomes was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in 2020 thanks to his commitment to the social justice movement.

Mahomes has used his superstar status to speak out against injustices. After George Floyd's death in June 2020, Mahomes was among a group of Black NFL stars who released a powerful video pushing owners and the league to condemn racism and acknowledge that "Black Lives Matter."

That's why everybody respects Mahomes, who turned 25 on Sept. 17, 2021. "Let me tell you something ... that [Mahomes’ involvement in social justice issues] was huge," Doug Williams told The Undefeated. "We’re not talking about a 15-year veteran. We’re talking about a young man who’s not even 25. ... It says a lot that he wanted to be involved in pushing for that change. It was very powerful." Willliams was the first Black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl and be named game MVP.

The Chiefs went 14-2 in 2020 and earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. Off the field, Mahomes and teammate Tyrann Mathieu were key figures in sponsoring a massive voter registration drive ahead of the 2020 United States presidential election.

The Chiefs beat Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in a late-season matchup that proved to be a Super Bowl preview. To put it in context, Mahomes was in kindergarten when Brady won his first Super Bowl with the Patriots.

Mahomes suffered a concussion in the Chiefs' playoff opener agains the Cleveland Browns. Browns linebacker Mack Wilson received death threats for being the player who put the clean hit on Mahomes that led to the concussion.

Mahomes returned heroically to lead the Chiefs to a win over the Buffalo Bills in the AFC championship game. The quick return raises big questions about the NFL's supposed concussion protocol, but when this much money is on the line, rules sometimes go out the window in the NFL.

Mahomes faces Tom Brady in Super Bowl LV in one of the most anticipated matchups in NFL history. Mahomes and the 43-year-old Brady have both been effusive in their praise of each other headed into the big game, with their 18-year age difference being a hot topic of discussion.

Mahomes owns six NFL records after just four seasons in the NFL. How many more records could he get and how long could he play? And how early in a player's career can we begin to say they look like a surefire Hall of Famer? They're all valid questions with Patrick Mahomes, who just made $500 in the time it took you to read this story.