Patrick Mahomes on LeBron/Jordan Comparisons with Tom Brady: 'It's Still Early'
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has accomplished a lot in the NFL before even turning 26 years old. As a result, he's drawn comparisons to the game's greatest field general of all time.
In a recent appearance on ESPN's First Take, Mahomes checked in from the site of the American Century Championship golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. He was asked about topics ranging from the Chiefs' Super Bowl loss in February, all the way to Eric Bieniemy's coaching prowess and even his now-famous haircut. The most noteworthy question, however, was about comparisons between himself and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady has gotten the best of Mahomes in both of their career postseason matchups. The 43-year-old is regarded as the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL. Mahomes naturally gets lumped in that conversation, even starring alongside Brady on this year's Madden cover. When asked about whether he and Brady can be viewed as the NFL's equivalent of LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan, Mahomes pumped the brakes a bit:
"I mean, it's still early for the LeBron-Michael Jordan stuff but for me, if you're in this league then you're trying to win," Mahomes said. "You’re trying to be the best player on that football field every single day. Tom’s done it for a long time and he’s won a lot of Super Bowls. When you’re coming up and watching football, you want to go out there and win championships like he’s done. I’m going to try to do whatever I can every single year to put us in a position that we can win a lot of championships, hopefully.”
Despite his age, Mahomes is quickly building arguably the greatest resume someone of his experience has ever had. He already has a 50-touchdown season, three Pro Bowl nods, a Super Bowl win, an MVP and countless other accolades to his name. It's easy to project out his career and see an NFL legend. The Brady comps aren't completely far-fetched.
With that said, Mahomes clearly seems focused on taking things one season at a time. It takes a village to win rings, and he's reached the pinnacle of the sport once already. His goal heading into the 2021 campaign: get there again. If the Chiefs rinse and repeat that cycle, then the Mahomes-Brady conversations will only grow louder.
