When the Kansas City Chiefs take the field Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be playing in his fourth career Super Bowl.
Mahomes is only 28 years old and in his sixth season as the Chiefs’ starter under center. He’s on pace to become one of the greats.
At Super Bowl Radio Row in Las Vegas, Sports Illustrated’s Brice Butler asked former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski if Mahomes could surpass the legendary Tom Brady as being labeled the best quarterback of all time.
“I think Patrick Mahomes is the only quarterback that has the potential to catch Brady,” Gronkowski told Butler. “There’s going to be so many variables and factors that play into it over the next 15 years.
“Does he want to play … until he’s 45? You don’t know that. That’s only up to him. … How long is Andy Reid going to be the head coach for? How long is Travis Kelce going to play with him as his No. 1 weapon throughout his whole tenure as a quarterback?”
Through six NFL seasons as a starter, Mahomes has collected two championships (potentially three on Sunday), two MVP awards and two All-Pro nods. Brady, on the other hand, had three Super Bowl titles by his sixth season as a starter but didn’t win an MVP award until his seventh campaign.
Mahomes has his work cut out for him, though. Those seven Super Bowl rings in Brady’s possession will be incredibly difficult to match, much less surpass. Even for a talent like Mahomes.
“If there’s one guy who can catch Brady, it’s Patrick Mahomes and no one else,” Gronkowski told Butler. “… If you ask me, I don’t think it’s going to be achievable because what Tom Brady did is just spectacular.”