$503 Million

On July 6th the record for the largest contract in sports history was broken. Mike Trout had held the title for a little over a year with a 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels for $430 million. But last Monday, the Super Bowl MVP took the title of having the largest contract in sports history home with him. Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year deal with the Kanas City Chiefs for $450 million. Many of you might be thinking to yourself, “Wait I thought ESPN said $503 million.” You would be right, they did. Patrick Mahomes will be 503 million dollars richer, but in twelve years, not ten. See, Mahomes has two years left in his current contract with the chiefs. If you put his current contract and add it to the one starting in 2022 and add incentives to it, Patrick Mahomes will be a $503 millionaire by the time he is 36.

That is an astronomical number, one that I cannot fathom. Luckily, ESPN broke it down for us in hopes that we could grasp it a little better. In one year, Mahomes will make 50.3 million dollars. In one day, he will make 137,808 dollars. In one hour, he will make 5,743 dollars. In one minute, he will make 96 dollars, and every second, Patrick Mahomes will make $1.60. Even with the breakdown, I still cannot imagine what 503 million dollars looks like. But the question isn’t, “How much is 503 million dollars really?” it’s, “Does Patrick Mahomes deserve that much? Is he just that good?” My answer to those two questions is yes.

Let me break it down for you analytically, Patrick Mahomes went to Texas Tech University for three years before entering the draft. Mahomes was drafted tenth overall to the Kansas City Chiefs. In his first season (2017) he played in one game, with a 62.9% completion rate. This completion rate is huge for a rookie's first game. This completion rate competes with players like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and the legend Brett Farve. In his second season in the NFL, Mahomes threw 26 touchdown passes and went for 2,810 yards. This is the most passing touchdowns and passing yards in a player's first nine career games in the Super Bowl era. By the end of his second season, he had thrown for over 5,097 yards. Mahomes was named NFL’s 2018 MVP and was placed in the 5,000-yard club. This “club” is for quarterbacks who have passed for over 5,000 yards in one season. The list is short but mighty. Here is the list: Peyton Manning, Drew Brees (who has done so five times), Tom Brady, Dan Marino, Matthew Stafford, Ben Roethlisberger, and Patrick Mahomes. In just two seasons Mahomes was taking the football world by storm. He proved to fans that he was consistent, patient, accurate, and a force to be reckoned with. People trusted Mahomes, he won, a lot, and he won by a lot. In the 2019 season, Mahomes proved to fans that not only could he win by a lot, but he could come back from a lot too. In the AFC divisional playoffs, the AFC championship, and the Super Bowl, Mahomes lead his team back from deficits to win by double-digit margins. He became the second-youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl (youngest was Ben Roethlisberger) and the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl MVP. To me, statistics don’t lie. The man is no joke with a ball. He has made quite a name for himself.

I think we are looking at the next Tom Brady. I think that Mahomes is going to be the Tom Brady of this generation's time. Not only do I think he will be the next Tom Brady, I think he’ll be better, and more liked. Let’s look at Brady for a second. The man has everything, he’s got a team, a model wife, kids, a good relationship with his parents. He has six rings for crying out loud. He’s so good, it’s annoying and people loathe him for how good he is. But Patrick Mahomes is different. He’s a normal guy with a normal girlfriend. The two seem to be happy together, and instead of hating him for it, people seem to support them. This is because normal people who work normal jobs can relate to this guy. I couldn’t think of a more deserving player for this huge contract. And I think Kansas City knows what they have gotten into. I would not be surprised if we saw Patrick Mahomes in more Super Bowls, winning more rings very soon.