Patrick Mahomes chasing second straight Super Bowl after whirlwind year including engagement and $500m contract
PATRICK MAHOMES came of age in last year’s Super Bowl – and he’s grown up fast in the 12 months since.
The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, 25, has led his team back to the NFL showpiece against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a year after winning his first title.
And it’s been a rollercoaster year for American football’s brightest star since beating the San Francisco 49ers last February.
Mahomes signed a half-a-billion-dollar, 10-year contract – the biggest deal in US sport history.
In September he proposed to childhood sweetheart Brittany Matthews at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium and the couple are expecting their first child.
Mahomes also spoke up for social justice in light of anti-racism protests and paid for the Chiefs’ stadium to be a US election polling centre.
The quarterback said: “Winning the Super Bowl was amazing and being able to celebrate that first championship in 50 years for Chiefs Kingdom - the parade was awesome.
“Then we got hit with the pandemic and we all strived to try and keep each other safe.
“Then with social injustice, as a nation we've had to find ways to make ourselves better. So it’s been full of ups and downs.”
Mahomes added: “When you're given a platform like I have been given you want to try and use it and make the world a better place.
“As I continue to learn about different people I'll try to use my voice to continue to try bring people together and make the world a better place.”
Tampa Bay, who Mahomes faces on Sunday, have the NFL’s most diverse coaching group - all four of boss Bruce Arians’ assistants are black and two of his staff are female.
Mahomes was named in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and is now tipped to dominate like Tom Brady.
Six-time champion Brady, 43, will grace the Super Bowl for a 10th time and the first since leaving New England Patriots last summer.
Mahomes, who was six years old when Brady won his first title, said: “If you're a young athlete in any sport and you don't look up to Tom Brady then you're crazy.
“He continues to make himself better and is the type of greatness you strive to be like.
“I grew up watching him play and he's still here playing and at the top of the game.”
Mahomes will turn his attention to fatherhood after tonight’s game and hopes his fiancee can hold off giving birth for a few more weeks.
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He admitted: “I'm not supposed to tell (the due date), but it's coming up pretty quickly.
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“We have all the things planned out and all the gadgets and every single tool you can have to be parents.
“It's going to be special to have a baby girl and I’ll do whatever I can to be the best dad I possibly can.”
