Patrick Mahomes knows he is a long way from passing Tom Brady as the NFL’s GOAT

Patrick Mahomes acknowledged that he would like to make a run at being considered the greatest quarterback in NFL history, but that he is a long way from overtaking Tom Brady to earn that status.

Patrick Mahomes explains how he will surpass Tom Brady as the GOAT 🐐

Mahomes has led the Kansas City Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles in his first seven seasons, and while he is very proud of that accomplishment, it’s not even close to enough to gain GOAT status. Tom Brady won seven Super Bowl titles during his career — six with the New England Patriots and one with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and Mahomes would have to come close to that total if not match it to become the NFL’s great of all-time at the QB position.

Mahomes was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024 and he explained what it would take to join or surpass the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL.

“You have to build a consistency of a career,” Mahomes said. “You see that in any sport. I’ve had a great run. I think I’ve done a great job so far. But it’s hard to take away from what Tom did for so long, what Peyton Manning did, or Aaron Rodgers. There are so many guys, they were at such a high level for such a long time. In order to be in that conversation, you have to do that on a year-to-year basis.”

Mahomes earning GOAT status means playing well past 40

The Chiefs quarterback is very familiar with the history of the game and also quite familiar with Brady’s accomplishments. While outsiders had predicted that Brady would retire while he was in his late 30s, the quarterback played until he was 45.

Mahomes would have a desire to do the same thing, but not at the expense of his family life. “I would love to play [until age 45], but if I feel like it’s taking away from my family time, that’s when I’ll know it’s time to go.”

The Kansas City quarterback is clearly one of the best quarterback in the NFL right now, and that may be underselling him based on his statistics and his achievements. However, there is far more to Mahomes’ game than hard-core numbers. He clearly is one of the game’s best leaders and also one of the most creative players at his position.

Mahomes is a six-time Pro Bowl performer and a two-time All-Pro. In addition to being on the winning side in the Super Bowl three times, he has won two NFL MVP Awards, three Super Bowl MVP Awards and the 2018 Bert Bell Award.

Mahomes became the first quarterback to lead his team to back-to-back Super Bowl titles since Brady did it with the 2003-04 Patriots. He will be attempting to lead his team to the first NFL three-peat in the Super Bowl era when the season kicks off in September.

Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including “Who’s Better, Who’s Best in the NFL.”