Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes Is Playing for a Legacy in Super Bowl 2024

The Kansas City quarterback will go up against an opponent he can’t see Sunday night in Las Vegas, with the potential to enter another class of football legends on the line.

In Super Bowl LVIII, Patrick Mahomes isn’t only playing against the San Francisco 49ers.

Mahomes is also playing against the ghosts of football past.

If Mahomes leads the Kansas City Chiefs to their third Super Bowl win in five years, a few things immediately take place.

The Chiefs become an unquestioned dynasty, cementing themselves alongside the 2000s New England Patriots, 1990s Dallas Cowboys, ’80s San Francisco 49ers, ’70s Pittsburgh Steelers and ’60s Green Bay Packers as the greatest teams to ever grace a gridiron during the Super Bowl era.

Mahomes is the star of this year’s Super Bowl :: Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports

On a more personal level, Mahomes would be putting himself into rarified air. Only Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Tom Brady have won three Super Bowls as starting quarterbacks. And with due respect to Aikman and Bradshaw, nobody would argue that either of them is equal to or better than Mahomes.

With a victory over San Francisco, Mahomes’s career changes moving forward. It’s no longer about whether he’s the unquestioned best in the moment. (That conversation, while silly, will still exist if Mahomes loses and one of his contemporaries wins next season to close the title gap.) It instead becomes about chasing down Montana and Brady, the two men widely seen as the greatest to ever throw a football.

At only 28 years old, a winning Mahomes would be armed to make his move in the historical annals of pro football. He would have three championships, two NFL MVPs, at least two Super Bowl MVPs, two 5,000-yard seasons, six Pro Bowl appearances, an Offensive Player of the Year award, two first-team All-Pro honors and one second-team All-Pro designation.

At the same point in Brady’s career, he had three titles and two Super Bowl MVPs, but was only a three-time Pro Bowler with zero 5,000-yard seasons, zero All-Pro teams and zero NFL MVP awards.

Of course, the argument for Mahomes over Brady at this point, regardless of Sunday’s outcome, is premature.

Part of Brady’s brilliance was his longevity, outlasting competition such as Peyton Manning. From Brady’s age-35 season on, he threw for 349 touchdowns and won four more rings. For Mahomes to ever catch Brady in the accolade department, he’ll likely need to play at least a dozen more years and have the fortune of health and an excellent supporting cast. Not easy.

Yet from another viewpoint, the conversation isn’t far from being legitimate. The NBA’s Michael Jordan won six titles. Bill Russell won 11. Each won five MVP awards. Additionally, Russell is seen as perhaps the greatest defensive player in league history.

And yet still, Jordan is universally regarded as the better player. Russell is the greatest winner of all time. Jordan is the greatest player.

In the future, that may be the similar construct for the argument between Brady and Mahomes. Winning seven Super Bowls and reaching 10 is almost impossible, even if Mahomes has a chance to get closer Sunday. But do we as a public need those numbers matched or exceeded in order to crown Mahomes, if he plays at a similar level to his current output for another decade or so?

For their careers (not including rookie seasons in which both barely played), Brady averaged 4,054 passing yards on 7.4 yards per attempt with 29 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Meanwhile, Mahomes is pacing at 4,690 yards at 7.9 YPA with 36 touchdowns and 10 picks.

Patrick Mahomes Is a Star Up Against the 49ers Galaxy

In the postseason, Mahomes shines even brighter. Brady played an obscene 48 playoff games, averaging 279.1 yards on 7.0 YPA, 1.8 touchdowns and 0.8 interceptions per game. Mahomes is at 282.4 yards on 7.7 YPA, 2.2 touchdowns and 0.4 interceptions. Super Bowl LVIII will be his 18th playoff game.

For certain athletes, the chase isn’t about the year’s prize but about legacy. Mahomes is potentially arriving at such a level, joining the likes of Brady, Jordan, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams and others. His dominance is undeniable; his singular talent is clear.

Should Mahomes once again defeat the 49ers on the sport’s grandest stage, he will ascend to another class, a place almost impossible to reach.

On Sunday night, Mahomes isn’t facing just the 11 men across the field. He’s facing the task of continuing his march toward immortality, a feature every athlete desires but so few achieve.