When I spoke to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes after last December’s win over the Patriots, he had to ask himself whether he’s 27 or 28.
He’s 28. He’ll be 29 on September 17. And as he gets closer to 30, the questions about how long he’ll play are inevitable.
They’re inevitable for two other reasons. First, the latest Mahomes ad for Coors Light, which has a recent habit of cheekily tiptoeing around the prohibition on active players doing beer commercials, says that the commercial will be put in a time capsule until Mahomes retires.
So when will that be? Will he pull a Tom Brady and play until he’s 45?
That leads to the second reason. Via Marca.com, Mahomes’s mother recently suggested in a podcast appearance that Patrick might not stick around until he’s halfway to 90.
“I hear him, you know, make comments like, ‘If the game takes away from my kids, I might not play as long as Tom Brady,’ and I’m like — I’m so proud of him for that,” Randi Mahomes said on The Mom Game podcast.
Much of it might depend on whether he catches Brady’s seven Super Bowl wins before Mahomes gets to 40. In six years as a starter, he has three rings; his floor is losing in overtime of the AFC Championship. Maybe Mahomes will be content to get to seven (or eight) and walk away.
Another factor will be whether Mahomes can manage to strike the right balance between football and family. It eventually got out of whack for Brady. Mahomes might be able to figure out how to prioritize family without undermining football.
Regardless, expect Mahomes to get plenty of questions about his long-term plans.