National Football League

Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes values championships over contract

Updated Aug. 16, 2022 5:51 p.m. ET

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have been a perennial Super Bowl contender since he became a starter in 2018.

And now, the quarterback is putting into perspective just how much winning means to him.

Mahomes told "Football Morning In America" that he's more concerned with his legacy than his pocketbook.

"For me, if you watch some of the great quarterbacks, man, it's not always about getting the most money," Mahomes said. "It's about going out there and winning and having a legacy that you can kind of live with forever. For me, that's what I want to have at the end of the day.

"Obviously, I want to make money and be able to buy everything I want and all that different type of stuff. But that's not the reason I started playing football. The reason I started playing football was to win Super Bowls, to enjoy these relationships that I'm building on this field with all my friends that are my teammates. I think, at the end of the day, if I do that, I'll be a happy guy in the end."

Mahomes, 26, is at the beginning of a 10-year, $450 million contract ($45 million AAV) next season. When Mahomes inked the deal in 2020, it was the richest contract in the history of American sports. With that said, a handful of quarterbacks signed new deals this past offseason that make Mahomes' contract look like a bargain given that it spans a decade.

Kyler Murray signed a five-year, $230.5 million extension ($46.1 million AAV) with the Arizona Cardinals; Deshaun Watson signed a new five-year, $230 million fully guaranteed deal ($46 million AAV) with the Cleveland Browns; Aaron Rodgers signed a new three-year, $150.8 million deal ($50.2 million AAV) with the Green Bay Packers.

Mahomes' entire NFL career has been alongside head coach Andy Reid, offensive coach Eric Bieniemy (varying coaching roles since 2013) and Travis Kelce, who has been one of the league's most productive tight ends.

And with that, Colin Cowherd, host of "The Herd," said that the Chiefs' four-time Pro Bowl QB understands "continuity" is the ingredient to sustaining a winning NFL program.

"Mahomes has figured it out," Cowherd said. "You got to trust your GM. Patrick Mahomes does. You got to trust your coach to elevate players. Do you want to every couple years have new tight ends, new receivers, a new offensive coordinator, new players, or do you want continuity because we know continuity is what wins in sports?

"Continuity is what's winning in sports. It's the Warriors' continuity, the Milwaukee Bucks' continuity. You're starting to look at the Rams, they're really building continuity. Chiefs have continuity. What do you want? People want to be around winners. Take a little less, be a winning brand. … You win more in salary-cap leagues, when the star takes a little less."

Patrick Mahomes says he values legacy over money

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes talked to Peter King about how he values his legacy over money. Colin Cowherd praises Mahomes for his approach.

Kansas City traded six-time Pro-Bowl wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason after the two sides couldn't agree to an extension. Hill would go on to sign the biggest deal for a WR in league history. The Chiefs then added veteran wide receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling and JuJu Smith-Schuster and drafted Western Michigan receiver Skyy Moore with the No. 54 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. They also signed Ronald Jones II to their running back room to team with Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Derrick Gore.

The cupboard remains stocked in Kansas City, and Mahomes' contract could keep it that way for a long time.