Sports
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes on $503M Contract: ‘There’s Still so Much I Can Improve’
David J. Phillip/Associated PressAt 24 years old, Patrick Mahomes has an MVP, Super Bowl title, Super Bowl MVP and two Pro Bowl appearances to his name. It’s a Hall of Fame resume just three years into his NFL career. Just as amazing, the Kansas City Chiefs star feels he’s still just scratching the surface of his…
David J. Phillip/Associated Press
At 24 years old, Patrick Mahomes has an MVP, Super Bowl title, Super Bowl MVP and two Pro Bowl appearances to his name. It's a Hall of Fame resume just three years into his NFL career.
Just as amazing, the Kansas City Chiefs star feels he's still just scratching the surface of his talents after signing a 10-year, $503 million extension.
“There's still so much I can improve,” Mahomes told Jeff Kerr of CBSsports.com. “The mental part of the game, you learn more and more every single year you're in the NFL, especially at the quarterback position. You learn from reps, you learn from seeing different stuff, and we understand defenses are going to keep throwing different stuff at us and combat the stuff we do so well.”
Given Mahomes' previous statements, it's not all that hard to believe he's right.
The quarterback told HBO's The Shop he didn't even learn how to read NFL defenses until halfway through last season. He took home the MVP award in 2018 with 5,097 passing yards, 50 touchdowns and 12 interceptions without even knowing what was coming until opponents started chasing after him.
Mahomes described that development process to Kerr:
“I'm going to keep trying to learn as much as possible. I'm going to keep to drill in the fundamentals. I really have only been playing quarterback for six or seven years. It's not like I've been playing for a very long time at the position, so I'm going to do whatever I can to try and get better and better at the fundamentals.
“When stuff breaks down, I can go back to where I kind of learned how to freestyle play and to let that succeed. I'm excited for this challenge of trying to make myself better and trying to be the best football player I can be.”
Put another way: Quarterbacks who have trained at the position for their whole lives don't have the innate sense on the field Mahomes does.
As he prepares for the next decade-plus in Kansas City, the Texas Tech product believes he's still catching up to those who have played longer than him. And he's already one of the best in the league.
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