Following an 89-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson in a week 17 game against the Oakland Raiders, Mahomes became the second quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. Additionally, he became one of seven players in NFL history with 5,000 passing yards in a season. He finished second in passing yards to Ben Roethlisberger. He became the first Chief since Len Dawson in 1966 to lead the league in passing touchdowns. He helped lead the Chiefs to a 12–4 record and their third straight division title.
In the Divisional Round against the Houston Texans, the Chiefs faced a 24–0 deficit early in the second quarter. The Chiefs then went on a 51–7 run, including 41 unanswered points, to win 51–31. Mahomes threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 53 yards. In their second AFC Championship, facing the Titans, Mahomes threw for three touchdowns and rushed for a 27-yard touchdown, the second longest run of his career and longest in the playoffs. He sparked a comeback from 17–7 in the second quarter to a 35–24 victory. The Chiefs made their first Super Bowl appearance since Super Bowl IV in 1970. In Super Bowl LIV, the Chiefs trailed 20–10 against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter with 8:53 remaining. It was their third straight game facing a 10+ point deficit. With just over 7 minutes to play, a successful 49ers challenge of a completed catch left the Chiefs facing 3rd and 15 on their own 35-yard-line. Mahomes asked his coaching staff to call the play Jet Chip Wasp, and successfully completed a deep pass to Tyreek Hill for 44 yards. This shifted momentum towards the Chiefs, who in the remaining minutes of the game went on a 21–0 run, securing their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years. Mahomes threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions, and rushed for another 29 yards and touchdown run and was named Super Bowl MVP. He was the youngest quarterback and third-youngest player in NFL history to earn the award. He was ranked fourth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2020.
Mahomes was born on September 17, 1995, in Tyler, Texas. His father is Pat Mahomes, a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and his mother is Randi Martin. Mahomes has a younger brother, Jackson, who is a social media influencer. Mahomes's parents divorced in 2006. His half-brother through his father, Graham Walker, plays football at Brown. He is also the godson of former MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, who was his father's teammate on the Minnesota Twins.
Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (/məˈhoʊmz/; born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Mahomes has led the Chiefs to six consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances and four Super Bowl appearances since becoming the team's starting quarterback in 2018. He is one of five quarterbacks in NFL history to win three or more Super Bowls. Mahomes's career accolades through seven seasons in the NFL have earned him widespread praise from sports journalists, and he is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
In the 2019 season, Mahomes led the Chiefs to Super Bowl LIV, their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers. Mahomes was awarded the Super Bowl MVP for his performance, the second black quarterback and youngest overall to do so. He is also the third African-American quarterback to win a Super Bowl. In 2020, Mahomes signed a 10-year contract extension worth $477 million with another $26 million in potential bonuses, for a total of $503 million, making it the fourth-largest known contract in sporting history. The year after signing his contract, he led the Chiefs to their second consecutive Super Bowl appearance, but they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. In the 2022 season, Mahomes won his second career NFL MVP and his second Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl LVII over the Philadelphia Eagles, becoming the first player to win NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP in the same year since Kurt Warner in 1999, and joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to win multiple regular season and Super Bowl MVPs. In the 2023 season, he advanced to Super Bowl LVIII, his fourth Super Bowl appearance in five seasons, where he defeated the 49ers in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV. With three Super Bowl wins in five seasons, many consider this a dynasty.
The following week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mahomes threw for 326 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 154.8. After throwing his fifth touchdown in the game, he broke the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a quarterback's first three career games. His sixth touchdown pass broke the NFL record for touchdown passes in a season's first two weeks. For his performance against the Steelers, Mahomes won his second consecutive AFC Offensive Player of the Week award, the first quarterback since Tom Brady in 2011 to start the season with back-to-back player of the week awards. Mahomes was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September.
Mahomes was projected to be a first or second round pick by the majority of analysts and scouts. During the throwing drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, his passes were clocked at 60 mph, tying Logan Thomas and Bryan Bennett for the fastest pass ever recorded there. Mahomes was ranked second best quarterback by SI.com, third by ESPN, and fourth by NFLDraftScout.com. Representatives from 28 NFL teams attended his pro day at Texas Tech. He became one of the fastest rising prospects during the draft process and had 18 private workouts and official team visits, the most for any prospect in 2017. Among the coaches that he had workouts and visits with were the Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor, and coaches from the Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Kansas City Chiefs selected Mahomes in the first round (10th overall) of the 2017 NFL draft. The Chiefs, originally slated to have the 27th overall selection, traded up in the draft with the Buffalo Bills for the 10th overall selection. The Chiefs traded their first round pick and a third round pick in 2017, and the Chiefs' first round pick in the 2018 NFL draft for the selection. He was the first quarterback selected by the Chiefs in the first round since selecting Todd Blackledge seventh overall in the 1983 NFL draft. On July 20, 2017, the Chiefs signed Mahomes to a guaranteed four-year, $16.42 million contract that included a signing bonus of $10.08 million.
Mahomes announced on January 3, 2017, that he would forgo his last year of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft.
Mahomes played college football and baseball at Texas Tech University. Following his sophomore year, he quit baseball to focus solely on football. In his junior year, he led all NCAA Division I FBS players in multiple categories including passing yards (5,052) and total touchdowns (53). He was selected 10th overall by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2017 NFL draft. Mahomes spent his rookie season as the backup to Alex Smith. He was named the starter in 2018 after the Chiefs traded Smith to the Washington Redskins. That season, Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He became the only quarterback in history to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a single season in both college and in the NFL. He joined Peyton Manning as the only players in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 passing touchdowns in the same season. For his performance in his first season as starter, he was named to the Pro Bowl, named first-team All-Pro, and won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year and NFL Most Valuable Player awards. Mahomes is one of four black quarterbacks to win the AP MVP award.
On January 30, 2018, the Chiefs announced they had agreed to trade Smith to the Washington Redskins, elevating Mahomes as starting quarterback. In his first game as the Chiefs starting quarterback, the Chiefs beat the division rival Chargers by a score of 38–28. Mahomes threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and a 127.5 passer rating and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. His first career touchdown came on a 58-yard pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill in the first quarter.
On January 12, 2019, the Chiefs defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31–13 in the Divisional Round, giving the Chiefs their first home playoff win since the 1993 season. Mahomes threw for 278 yards with no interceptions and rushed for one touchdown. The win allowed the Chiefs to host the first AFC Championship held at Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes passed for 295 yards and three touchdowns, but the Chiefs lost to the Patriots in overtime 37–31.
In April 2019, Mahomes announced the establishment of a nonprofit organization called the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation. The nonprofit's website states that it is "dedicated to improving the lives of children".
Following his 2018 MVP season, Mahomes received multiple endorsement deals. His first contract came from Hunt's upon revealing his love for ketchup. In addition, he has signed endorsement deals with Oakley, Essentia Water, Hy-Vee, State Farm, DirectTV, Adidas, and Head & Shoulders. He also signed an endorsement contract with Helzberg Diamonds who released a line of necklaces featuring his logo. He was named the cover athlete for Madden NFL 20, becoming the first Chiefs player to be on the cover. He would be named the Madden cover athlete again, along with Tom Brady, two years later for Madden NFL 22. Mahomes and Brady are the first players to be named cover athlete twice. In 2020, he signed an endorsement deal with sports drink maker BioSteel sports drinks. He also became an equity partner in the company. On August 16, 2021, he announced he would be releasing his own signature shoe as part of his endorsement deal with Adidas. The shoe was called the Mahomes 1 Impact FLX and was released on August 23.
In 2020, Mahomes joined the Kansas City Royals ownership group as a minority stakeholder. In 2021, he joined Sporting Club, the ownership group of the Major League Soccer franchise Sporting Kansas City. Mahomes is a member of an ownership group of an upcoming professional pickleball team based in Miami, Florida. The ownership group also includes Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios, and Rich Paul. Mahomes joined the ownership group of the NWSL's Kansas City Current in 2023. His wife has been a member of the ownership group since the team was established. In 2023, Mahomes (as well as Travis Kelce) became an investor in the Alpine racing team of Formula One.
In the Chiefs' week 2 win over the Chargers, Mahomes achieved his fourth fourth-quarter comeback. The Chiefs trailed 17–9 entering the fourth quarter before winning in overtime 23–20. The comeback was the NFL record sixth time he overcame a 10+ point deficit to win. In a week 3 win over the Baltimore Ravens, he threw for 385 passing yards, passing for four touchdowns and rushing for one. In the game, he became the fastest quarterback to surpass 10,000 career yards. It took him 34 games to eclipse Kurt Warner's mark. He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In week 8, he threw for 416 yards and five touchdowns in a 35–9 victory against the New York Jets. Mahomes was again named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In a week 9 victory over the Carolina Panthers, he threw for 372 passing yards and four touchdowns. In week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Mahomes led the Chiefs to a 27–24 victory while throwing for 462 yards and three touchdowns. Mahomes was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November. In 2020, Sports Illustrated named him one of their Sportspeople of the Year for his activism following the murder of George Floyd and his encouragement for people to vote in the 2020 presidential election. In week 14, against the Miami Dolphins, he tied a career high with three interceptions. Mahomes rested for week 17 after the Chiefs locked up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Mahomes finished the 2020 season with 4,740 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and six interceptions. He was named to the Pro Bowl for his accomplishments in the 2020 season.
On April 30, 2020, the Chiefs picked up the fifth-year option on Mahomes's contract. On July 6, he signed a ten-year extension worth $477 million with another $26 million in potential bonuses for a total of $503 million. The contract extends through the 2031 season. The contract is currently the second–largest contract in American professional sports history, surpassing Mike Trout's 12-year, $426.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. Mahomes became the first professional athlete to have a half-billion dollar contract. Soccer players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and baseball player Shohei Ohtani have since surpassed the contract amount.
On September 1, 2020, Mahomes proposed to Brittany Matthews, his high school sweetheart, in a suite in Arrowhead Stadium, the day Mahomes received his Super Bowl LIV championship ring. Matthews had a brief professional soccer career playing for Icelandic club UMF Afturelding and then became a certified personal trainer. She is also a co-owner of the Kansas City Current, a women's professional soccer team. The couple married on March 12, 2022. They have two children: a daughter and a son.
In 2021, Mahomes became an investor in a group to expand the Whataburger fast food restaurant franchise to Missouri and Kansas. The locations will primarily be in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the Wichita, Kansas metropolitan area, and multiple locations in between the cities.
On March 12, 2021, Mahomes restructured his contract to save the Chiefs $17 million in salary cap space.
In 2022, Mahomes appeared in a commercial for Coors Light. NFL rules prohibit players from endorsing alcohol products, so the product in the commercial was a Coors flashlight instead of beer. In 2023, he appeared in commercials for cellphone provider T-Mobile. Also in 2023, he signed an endorsement deal with the beverage manufacturer Prime.
Mahomes is featured in the NFL Films and Netflix sports documentary series Quarterback, alongside other NFL quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota. All three players were filmed during the 2022 season on-and-off the field. The series premiered on Netflix on July 12, 2023. Mahomes's newly established 2PM Productions collaborated on producing the series.
On September 18, 2023, the Chiefs and Mahomes agreed to restructure his contract, giving him $210.6 million between 2023 and 2026, the most money in NFL history over a four-season span. In Week 4 against the Jets, Mahomes passed for his 200th career touchdown, becoming the fastest player in NFL history to reach that milestone, having done so in just his 84th start. His 51 rushing yards in the game also allowed him to break Alex Smith's franchise record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback. After defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5, Mahomes became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to defeat all other 31 teams besides their own. In Week 12, Mahomes was 27-of-34 for 298 yards and two touchdowns to overcome a 14-point deficit in a 31–17 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week.