Patrick Lavon Mahomes II (born September 17, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He initially played college football and college 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 yards) and total touchdowns (53 touchdowns). He then entered the 2017 NFL Draft where he was the tenth overall selection by the Chiefs.
Mahomes spent his rookie season as the backup to Alex Smith. After the Chiefs traded Smith to the Washington Redskins the following season, Mahomes was named the starter. That season, Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He became the only quarterback in history to throw for over 5,000 yards in a season in both college and the NFL. He joined Peyton Manning as the only players in NFL history to throw 50 touchdown passes and 5,000 yards in a single 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, along with Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, and Steve McNair, is one of four African-American quarterbacks to win the AP MVP award.
During the 2019–20 playoffs, Mahomes led the Chiefs to Super Bowl LIV, their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers for their first Super Bowl victory since 1970. Mahomes was awarded the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player for his performance, the second African-American quarterback to win the award after Doug Williams, and youngest overall. He is the third African-American quarterback after Doug Williams and Russell Wilson and the second youngest quarterback after Ben Roethlisberger to win the 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 second largest known contract in sporting history. The following year, he would make the Super Bowl again, however, he would lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9–31. The loss was the first by double digits in his NFL career. He is the son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes.
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
