Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs spoke after … [+]
When elite quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes play against each other for the sixth time, it could represent the final meeting between the 45-year-old Brady, who briefly retired during the offseason, and the 27-year-old Mahomes.
This weekend’s Kansas City Chiefs-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game is also a matchup of the NFL’s two highest off-the-field earners.
Brady will make $45 million off the field in 2022, and Mahomes was slated to earn $22 million, according to Forbes.
Brady has more than double the off-the-field income of Mahomes, the NFL’s next-best pitchman. Brady’s lucrative long-term endorsement deals include FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, and Hertz rental cars.
He also has founded or co-founded five companies: nutrition and training brand TB12, the Autograph NFT outfit, his own clothing line, a film and TV content company called 199 Productions and another media company he launched with Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra called Religion of Sports.
Like Brady, Mahomes is a popular spokesperson. His list of companies includes Adidas, Coors Light, Oakley, Head & Shoulders, State Farm, Bose, DIRECTV, Electronic Arts
EA
On the field, Mahomes has a chance to even the score, as Brady is 3-2 all time against Mahomes.
“It’ll be a big game for me to kind of go up there and try to find a way to just win as a team,” Mahomes said. “We’ve had a lot of games, and he’s won kind of the bigger ones.”
Two of Mahomes’ losses to Brady came during the postseason — a 37-31 defeat to the New England Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship Game and a 31-9 defeat to the Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
While competing at the highest level, they formed great respect for each other.
After the AFC Championship Game loss, which came during Mahomes’ first season as a starting quarterback, Brady was so impressed with Mahomes’ talent and professionalism that he initiated a private conversation with Mahomes as the young star was leaving Arrowhead Stadium.
“He just kind of talked about how he respected how I did everything the right way and stuff like that,” Mahomes said. “It was definitely a cool experience.”
Two years later, prior to facing Brady in Super Bowl LV, Mahomes joked that it was Brady’s “150th” Super Bowl appearance.
When it looked like Brady had retired last offseason, Mahomes publicly praised him, calling him the “GOAT
GOAT
Brady may have the most impressive career (and the most lucrative endorsement portfolio in 2022), but Mahomes is enjoying a better season.
The Chiefs passer enters the Week Four contest as the NFL’s third-highest-rated quarterback this season. He has completed 67.9% of his passes for 857 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception.
While dealing with a slew of injuries to his receivers and offensive line, Brady has only an 89.2 quarterback rating after completing 65% of his passes for 673 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Consequently, the Chiefs offense ranks seventh in the NFL, and the Buccaneers are sixth to last.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid cautioned that he thinks Brady looks like the same accurate passer who won three MVPs and seven Super Bowls.
“He can still sling it,” Reid said.
Technically, this is the second time Brady and Mahomes have competed against each other in 2022.
Aaron Rodgers and Brady bested Mahomes and Josh Allen during the summer in The Match, a 12-hole, alternate shot event at the Wynn Golf Club in Paradise, Nev.
“Yeah, yeah, he got me in the golf, man,” Mahomes said, laughing.
The two legends haven’t always been in opposition. They partnered together for the cover of Madden 22 and hung out during the preceding photo shoot.
The resulting EA Sports product was yet another opportunity for the NFL’s two biggest stars, who will be under the spotlight Sunday night, to enhance their brand.
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