https://sports.yahoo.com/super-bowl-2025-patrick-mahomes-legacy-already-secure-but-he-wants-even-more--and-is-making-a-run-at-tom-brady-130001107.html
The Kansas City Chiefs hadn’t even been handed the Lombardi Trophy last year after winning the Super Bowl when Patrick Mahomes was thinking about another.
“We’re not done, dog. I want three,” Mahomes, who was wearing a microphone for NFL Films, told Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones on the podium. “Three. No one has ever got three. I want back-to-back-to-back.”
When Mahomes is meeting the media this week before Super Bowl LIX, he’s likely to downplay the subjects of his legacy and the Chiefs making history. But that moment on the podium after last season’s Super Bowl seemed to be an honest one. While every Chiefs player and coach would have his reputation changed by a third straight Super Bowl win, something no team has done before, championships define quarterbacks.
Mahomes understands that and revealed it on the podium in Las Vegas last year.
“Even though you’re winning, you’re enjoying that moment, you enjoy it, but at the same time you have a bigger picture of your entire career,” Mahomes told the media in Kansas City last week. “I want to have as many chances as I can to be in the Super Bowl.”
Three straight championships puts Mahomes on a different tier, not just among NFL quarterbacks but all modern era athletes. He was asked last week about how a three-peat changed the legacies of athletes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Derek Jeter.
“That’s a long way, I feel like, still for me to go to be mentioned with those guys, but I’ll try to do whatever I can to be close as I can be,” Mahomes said.
Here’s the thing: Mahomes really isn’t too far off from those greats, or anyone else really. He’s already in a small circle of legends, with plenty of his career to go. His remaining Super Bowls, like the one to be played in New Orleans on Sunday, will determine how high up the list he goes.
The stakes are huge for him, and he seems fully aware of it.
Patrick Mahomes’ place in history
Tom Brady never guided the New England Patriots to five Super Bowls in six seasons. Mahomes’ Chiefs became the first team to do that.
Joe Montana had a shot at three Super Bowls in a row, but the 49ers lost in the NFC championship game after winning back-to-back titles. No back-to-back champ made the Super Bowl in the following season before Mahomes’ Chiefs did it this season.
And, as will be pointed out countless times this week, no team has ever won three Super Bowls in a row. That would give Mahomes a card to play that nobody else has.
Mahomes has a chance to join a select group with a fourth ring. Only Terry Bradshaw, Montana and Brady have four Super Bowl wins as a starting quarterback. Mahomes has three Super Bowl MVPs, which is tied for second all-time with Montana. Only Brady, with five, has more.
Oh, and Mahomes hasn’t even turned 30 years old yet. That will happen in September.
There’s no upside in athletes talking about their legacies. That’s for others to decide, they’ll say. That’s why, in a controlled setting like Super Bowl media availability, Mahomes and others will acknowledge it but deflect.
“I think you always want to leave a legacy and make your imprint on history,” Mahomes said last week. “More than anything, you just want to accomplish a goal you have with your teammates.”
Mahomes chasing Tom Brady
There can be a debate if Brady is the greatest quarterback ever. For those who judge quarterbacks off championships won, it would take someone at least matching Brady’s seven titles to be in the conversation.
Mahomes has already had an epic career. He’d be a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he retired after this Super Bowl. And he’s not even halfway to seven titles.
Before Brady, the standard was four. Montana and Bradshaw reached that plateau. Troy Aikman got close, with three. Mahomes has matched Aikman. He can tie Montana and Bradshaw with a fourth win as a starter on Sunday.
And, as the Chiefs flew to New Orleans for another Super Bowl, Mahomes still needed another four to match Brady. That seems impossible, but he already has a great start toward it.
“I know I’m a long way from Tom,” Mahomes said after winning the AFC championship game over the Bills. “I’ll try to do whatever I can to be close to that.”
Mahomes can’t afford to let opportunities pass him by. As much as it might seem to fatigued fans like the Chiefs dynasty will never end, it will. However many titles Mahomes finishes with will be the first talking point in the debate about where he ranks among all-time quarterbacks, and perhaps among the greats in any sport.
He’s aware of that too.
“I just try to maximize every moment,” Mahomes said, “because you never know when it’s going to be your last one,”
https://sports.yahoo.com/super-bowl-2025-patrick-mahomes-legacy-already-secure-but-he-wants-even-more--and-is-making-a-run-at-tom-brady-130001107.html
