Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the highest-paid player in the NFL and the reigning Super Bowl MVP. That said, there is one player he still feels is superior: Tom Brady.
“He’s someone that’s a global star,” Mahomes said.
“For me, I just try to be myself and go out there every single day and put in the work and try to win football games. All that other stuff kind of comes with it. For me, I just try to be a normal guy and live it up with my teammates and have fun doing it.”
This week, Brady and Mahomes will face off in a battle between the greatest quarterback of all time and his ostensible heir apparent.
The pair has faced off on three separate occasions, with Brady winning two of the match-ups. One of them was a 37-31 victory in the 2019 AFC Championship Game.
“He just grabbed me after the game,” Mahomes said.
“I was kind of leaving the stadium and they had obviously been celebrating going to the Super Bowl. He just talked about how he respected how I did everything the right way and stuff like that. It’s just cool to have a guy of that stature who’s won championships it seems like year in and year out that has respect for your game as much as you have respect for his. It was definitely a cool experience that I was able to know that I was doing things the right way early in my career.”
Mahomes was caught off guard by Brady’s decision to leave New England for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but he feels like the new situation suits him well.
“I think I was as surprised as everyone was when he wasn’t going back to New England and he was going to Tampa Bay,” Mahomes said.
“But he’s in a great spot. They’ve got a lot of weapons there and Coach [Bruce] Arians is a great coach, and they’re winning a lot of football games. For us, we’re just going with the same mindset as if we’re going to play any other great football team and we’re going to have to battle every single play.
“I don’t think it’s going to feel very much different. It’s still a very good football team that’s playing really good football and winning a lot of football games. So we know it’s going to be a great challenge for us, and we’re excited for it.”
The Chiefs and Buccaneers will face off Sunday at 1:25 PT on CBS.
Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
