The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes won his third Super Bowl MVP award last season, solidifying his role as the de facto face of the NFL. Therefore, it’s no surprise that TIME named Mahomes as one of their 100 Most Influential People in 2024.
Cheering on his continued success, Mahomes’ No. 1 fan, his wife. Brittany Mahomes proudly posted the TIME cover on her Instagram Stories and wrote, “My hottttttt hubbby,” with several emojis.
In the TIME interview, Mahomes opened up about how his family, in particular daughter Sterling, 3, and son Bronze, 1, will ultimately dictate when he retires.
“I’ve looked, if I played until Tom [Brady]’s age, my daughter would be 19, 20 years old,” Mahomes said. “I would love to play that long. At the same time, I want to be there for my daughter. If I can do that, I’ll continue to play. But if I feel like it’s taking away from my family time, that’s when I’ll know it’s time to go.”
Mahomes also knows how difficult it will be to play through to his mid-40s. “Tom’s skewed people’s brains on how hard that is to do because of how well he took care of his body,” he noted. “So I’m about to make sure that I get rid of this dad bod if I want to play to 45.”
At age 28, Mahomes has shown no signs of slowing down. And with the 10-year, $450 million contract extension he signed with the Chiefs in 2020, retirement remains a long way off.
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Admitted Losing on Christmas Put a Dark Cloud Over the Family’s Holiday
While family and football are the two most important things in Mahomes’ life, separating the two can be difficult. When the Chiefs took a demoralizing 20-14 loss to Las Vegas Raiders at home on Christmas Day last year, shaking off the game was tough.
The broadcast captured Mahomes going off on the offensive line while Chiefs Kingdom booed the team off the field at halftime. The Chiefs fell to 9-6 and hopes to win the top seed in the AFC disappeared, which didn’t make for a great family Christmas. While hosting friends and family for dinner that night, Mahomes told TIME his focus was elsewhere.
“Santa definitely wasn’t as fun,” Mahomes admitted. “That game kind of turned my mind. Where I was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to turn it around. Right now.’” And they did. Mahomes and Co. went undefeated the rest of the regular season.
After winning the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, Mahomes credited Brittany for making him go to bed at 4:30 a.m., as the family was heading to Disney World that day. “At the time, I was like, ‘I’ll just stay up all night,'” he said. “But those couple of hours [of sleep] did help me get through Disney the next day.”
Brittany struggled with that trip, as well. The KC Current co-owner posted on Instagram, “The day after the Super Bowl Win, grind for Mom and Dad, best time ever for Sterling and Bronze 😂🤍✨ But would do it over and over again, so same time next year Dad?? ☺️.”
Patrick Mahomes Gushed Over Taylor Swift Joining Chief Kingdom
After Taylor Swift started dating Mahomes best friend and teammate, Travis Kelce, the pop star became a fixture at games. Throughout the season, Swift also became close friends with Brittany.
Mahomes, who always spoke highly of Swift, once again expressed both admiration and respect for the “Blank Space” singer.
“I’ve met a lot of famous people now in my life,” Mahomes told TIME. “Taylor’s probably the most down-to-earth person that’s been on that stage for that long.”
As someone denies he’s reached G.O.A.T status, the two-time NFL MVP recognizes Swift’s work ethic. “She’s never not working,” Mahomes said. “Even when she’s taking her downtime, she’s working on something. Shooting a music video or singing a song or writing a song. You can see it by how she talks.”
Mahomes also appreciates the genuine interest Swift took into football. “When she’s learning it, you can see her business mind putting it together. It’s almost like she’s trying to become a coach. ‘Why can’t you try this, this, and this?’ She’s asking the right questions.”
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Brittany Mahomes Posts 3-Word Reaction to Patrick Mahomes’ TIME Cover