Pat Mahomes

On April 30, 2020, the Chiefs picked up the fifth-year option on Mahomes' contract.

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, becoming 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 (24 years and 138 days) after Ben Roethlisberger (23 years and 320 days) to win the Super Bowl.

On January 12, 2019, the Chiefs defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the Divisional Round by a score of 31–13 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 in his first career playoff start. The win sent the Chiefs to their first AFC Championship since 1993 and allowed the Chiefs to host the first AFC Championship game held at Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes passed for 295 yards and three touchdowns, but the Chiefs lost to the New England Patriots in overtime 37–31.

Mahomes' performance for the season earned multiple awards. He was named to the 2019 Pro Bowl, he was named First Team All–Pro, 2019 Best NFL Player ESPY Award, and was named Kansas City Club 101 Awards AFC Offensive Player of the Year. He was also named the NFL MVP, the first ever winner for the Chiefs. He was ranked as the fourth best player in the NFL by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019.

In the spring of 2019 Mahomes established the nonprofit, 15 and the Mahomies Foundation. Regarding its mission, the nonprofit's website states that it is "dedicated to improving the lives of children. The Foundation will support initiatives that focus on health, wellness, communities in need of resources and other charitable causes." Its signature program, 15 FOR 15, will support "15 youth charitable initiatives that focus on academics, science, the arts, classroom supplies, athletics, children with disabilities, after-school programs and more". At its inaugural event in November 2019, 15 FOR 15 gave away $225,000 in the form of $15,000 grants to 15 Kansas City area charities.

On January 30, 2018, the Chiefs announced they had agreed to trade Alex Smith, making Mahomes the starting quarterback for the 2018 season. In his first game as the Chiefs full–time starting quarterback, Mahomes beat division rival the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 38–28. In the game he threw for 256 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions and a 127.5 quarterback rating. For the performance, Mahomes 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 against the Chargers.

Mahomes lives with his girlfriend Brittany Matthews, whom he has dated since his sophomore year in high school. Mahomes and Matthews bought a home in Kansas City, Missouri in 2018 for $1.92 million.

Mahomes announced on January 3, 2017, that he would forgo his last year of college eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.

Coming out of Texas Tech, Mahomes was projected as a first or second round pick by the majority of analysts and scouts. During the throwing drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, Mahomes' passes were clocked at 60 mph, tying Logan Thomas and Bryan Bennett for the fastest pass ever recorded at the NFL combine. Mahomes was ranked the second best quarterback by SI.com, the third best by ESPN, and the fourth best by NFLDraftScout.com After an impressive showing at the NFL Combine, representatives from 28 NFL teams were on hand to attend his pro day at Texas Tech. He became one of the fastest rising prospects during the draft process and had 18 private workouts and visits for team, which was the most for any prospect in 2017. Among the teams and 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) in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Buffalo Bills traded the 10th overall pick to the Chiefs for their first round pick, third round pick, and the Chiefs' first round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. He was the first quarterback selected by the Chiefs in the first round since they selected Todd Blackledge seventh overall in the 1983 NFL Draft.

On July 20, 2017, the Chiefs signed Mahomes to a fully guaranteed four-year, $16.42 million contract that included a signing bonus of $10.08 million.

The Chiefs announced on December 27, 2017, that with a playoff spot and the fourth seed in the playoffs secured, they would rest starter Alex Smith and give Mahomes his first career start in their Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos. Mahomes played most of the game and helped lead the Chiefs to a 27–24 win, and completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards with an interception.

On May 12, 2017, Mahomes and three friends were robbed at gunpoint in his hometown of Tyler, Texas after getting out of their vehicle in a driveway. A car pulled up carrying two men who approached the group and one of the suspects gestured as if they had a weapon and demanded property. Authorities were later able to locate the vehicle and arrest the suspects.

Prior to the start of the 2016 season, Mahomes announced that he was leaving the baseball team to focus on football for the entire offseason.

On October 22, 2016, Mahomes set multiple NCAA, Big 12, and school records in a 66–59 loss to Oklahoma at home. Mahomes broke the NCAA FBS records for single-game total offense with 819 yards. He also tied the NCAA record for single game passing yards with 734. He fell one short of the record for most attempts at 88. Overall, the game set NCAA records for most combined yards of total offense with 1,708 combined passing yards, and total offense by two players (the other being Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield). The 125 combined points are the second most all time involving ranked teams.

Mahomes began his sophomore season at Texas Tech as the starter at quarterback. In the first game of the 2015 season, Mahomes passed for 425 yards and four touchdowns in a 59–45 win over Sam Houston State University. He followed that up with a 361-yard passing performance against UTEP, throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for two in Tech's 69–20 win over the Miners. Against TCU, Mahomes passed for 392 yards and two touchdowns in the 55–52 loss. Overall, in the 2015 season, he finished with 4,653 yards, 36 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions.

Mahomes was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star football recruit and was ranked as the 12th best dual-threat quarterback in his class. He committed to Texas Tech University. Mahomes was also a top prospect for the 2014 Major League Baseball draft, but was not expected to be selected high due to his commitment to Texas Tech. He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round, but did not sign.

In Week 4, against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football, he passed for 304 passing yards and a passing touchdown to go along with a rushing touchdown in the 27–23 comeback victory. In Week 6, against the New England Patriots, he passed for 352 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in the 43–40 loss on Sunday Night Football. In the following game, Mahomes and the Chiefs bounced back with a 45–10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. In the victory, he passed for 358 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. In the next game, a 30–23 win over the Denver Broncos, Mahomes recorded a third consecutive game with four passing touchdowns to go along with 303 passing yards and one interception. During Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 11, Mahomes finished with 478 passing yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions as the Chiefs lost 54–51. His 478 passing yards were the most for a single game by any quarterback for the 2018 season.

In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Houston Texans, the Chiefs began the game with 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 5 touchdowns and rushed for 53 yards as he helped lead the Chiefs to their second consecutive conference championship game. In the AFC Championship against 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 down 17–7 in the second quarter to help lead the Chiefs to a 35–24 victory. Mahomes' performance helped lead the Chiefs to 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 left, their third straight game trailing by at least 10 at some point in the game. Mahomes helped lead the Chiefs on a 21–0 run, leading the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl victory in 50 years. Mahomes threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 29 yards and one touchdown and was named Super Bowl MVP.

The following week, 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 through a quarterback's first three career games. Following his sixth touchdown pass in the game, he broke the NFL record for touchdown passes thrown in the first two weeks of the season. For his performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mahomes won his second consecutive AFC Offensive Player of the Week award becoming 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.

In the Chiefs first game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Mahomes threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns despite star receiver Tyreek Hill getting injured in the first quarter and Mahomes spraining his ankle in the second quarter. In Week 2 against the Oakland Raiders, Mahomes threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns in the second quarter alone, which was the most passing yards in any quarter since 2008. Mahomes finished the game with 443 yards, and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. For the second consecutive season, Mahomes was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September after leading the Chiefs to a 4–0 start with ten passing touchdowns and no interceptions. Mahomes dislocated his patella in the Chiefs Week 7 game against the Denver Broncos. The following day, an MRI revealed no significant structural damage to his knee and he was initially expected to miss at least three weeks. He returned just two weeks later in Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans, throwing for 446 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. However, despite Mahomes's performance, the Chiefs lost 35–32. Mahomes ran for a career-high 59 yards, but threw for a career-low for games he finished with 182 yards in the Chiefs' Week 12 victory over the Chargers. In Week 16 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football, Mahomes celebrated by counting to 10 on his fingers, alluding to the fact that he was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and that the Bears could have drafted him with the second pick instead of drafting Mitchell Trubisky. He finished the season with 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns with only five interceptions. He helped lead the Chiefs to their second consecutive 12–4 record and first round bye, as well as their fourth consecutive division title.. He was selected to the 2020 Pro Bowl, though he did not play due to his participation in Super Bowl LIV.

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 is the son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Pat Mahomes. 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 passing touchdowns (53 touchdowns). He then entered the 2017 NFL Draft where he was the tenth overall selection by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes was born in Tyler, Texas, to parents Pat Mahomes, then an MLB pitcher, and Randi Mahomes on September 17, 1995. Mahomes attended Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas. He played football, baseball, and basketball. In football, he had 4,619 passing yards, 50 passing touchdowns, 948 rushing yards and 15 rushing touchdowns as a senior. In baseball, he threw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts in a game his senior year. He was named the Maxpreps Male Athlete of the Year for 2013–2014.

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, along with Peyton Manning, 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 the NFL in passing yards. 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.

Mahomes finished the season leading the country in yards per game (421), passing yards (5,052), total offense (5,312), points responsible for (318), and total touchdowns (53). For his performance, he was awarded the Sammy Baugh Trophy, given annually to the nation's top college passer, joining head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Graham Harrell, and B. J. Symons as other Red Raiders to have won the award. He was also named an Academic All-American 2nd Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.