KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The richest contract in sports now resides in one of its smallest markets. Patrick Mahomes will be paid half a billion dollars to play quarterback for the Chiefs over the next dozen years, his decision to sign a contract extension representing one of the biggest days in Kansas City history.
The Chiefs are locked in to a 24-year-old Super Bowl and regular-season MVP at a position that only nine seasons ago included Matt Cassel, Brodie Croyle and Tyler Palko throwing footballs.
How did we get here?
It traces to a decision Mahomes made years earlier. One that had less to do with money or his ability to sling an inflated ball 57.1 yards in the air to complete Jet Chip Wasp.
One that had everything to do with his personality _ certain characteristics unaltered by a college scholarship, a first-round draft selection or a Lombardi Trophy.
"What people don't realize about Patrick," said Bobby Stroupe, his trainer since middle school who owns APEC, "is that he has never wanted to be famous necessarily."
Back in early 2017, as Mahomes' agents maneuvered his NFL draft landing spot, they posed a question.
Big market. Big money. Or ideal situation?
Easy, Mahomes replied, per a later recounting of the story. Ideal situation.
As a kid, Mahomes would forget to take home his baseball tournament trophies. When his mom asked where they were, he would literally shrug. It was about winning, he would later explain, not the notoriety that followed.
No, he didn't need to be in New York or Los Angeles. Didn't need to be in Chicago or Dallas. Some of his lifelong friends chuckle at the thought of him living among skyscrapers. His mom was relieved when he didn't choose a fast-paced city for college. It would've been an awkward match.
He's found a fit in Kansas City.
A home worth sticking around.
A home that reminds him of, well, home.
"I think Kansas City is just a perfect place for me," Mahomes said during Super Bowl week in Miami. "It's kind of how I grew up."
Mahomes spent his childhood in Tyler, Texas, a town of 100,000. He attended high school in nearby Whitehouse, a town of 8,000 absent a formal downtown or city square. The two share a collection of middle-class ranch homes. The police station and city hall are merely glass storefronts.
"Man, we all loved Whitehouse," childhood friend Coleman Patterson said in an interview with The Star in January. "We loved East Texas _ a lot of good people, a lot of blue collar, hardworking individuals. And, you know, we weren't pampered growing up. We all just didn't come from a lot of money. We worked hard for what we were given. We lived in a community that understood the value of a good work ethic."
Don't get it twisted: Mahomes knew fame. He traveled the country with his father, Pat Sr., a professional baseball player. He remembers meeting Derek Jeter.
But he enjoyed the simpler aspects of life without it. Never minded the slow pace of East Texas. Never minded the lack of college interest. Never minded his rarely-viewed high school highlights that so many see now and wonder, "How did so many miss on this kid?"
"I think KC is a really good vibe for him," Patterson said. "I think it kind of fits, you know, who we are and where we came from."
The football franchise always had the ideal match. It had a quarterback mastermind in head coach Andy Reid and a plethora of young talent on offense that already included tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. They'll all be back this season, and, as Mahomes announced on his social media pages, "We're chasing a dynasty."
But when he connects with his friends _ a circle that remains tight today _ they rarely talk football. They talk life. Relationships. Memories. So when Kansas City comes up in conversation, it's in that context.
And ...
"Every time I talk to him," said Jake Parker, another childhood friend, "he just sounds like he just loves, I mean just loves, Kansas City so much."
He'll never again know a life without fame. By the time he completes this contract at age 36, he will be the most famous athlete in Kansas City history _ if he's not already. At 24.
Ideal situation. Big market. Or big money.
He has two of three now.
On Sunday, Mahomes called Stroupe from Fort Worth, irked he had to cancel Monday's morning workout. He had a trip to make.
He flew to Kansas City and signed papers to pay him $503 million. But he's flew back Monday evening. A workout awaited Tuesday.
A couple of weeks later, he returns home.
"I can tell you, it's not going to change him," Stroupe said. "This isn't what he's after. This has never been the end goal. He's got a lot of fire left in his belly. I don't think one (Super Bowl) is going to be enough."
