The early success of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as a leader on three Super Bowl-winning teams is hard to compare with other athletes. A world-renowned champion and icon doesn’t come around often, as few can lead effectively with the everyday pressure.
Chiefs Wire’s Ed Easton Jr. spoke to legendary New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter after his appearance at Fanatics Fest in New York City about his thoughts on Mahomes as a team captain and his work in sports memorabilia with Arena Club.
“He cares about winning,” Jeter explained about the reigning Super Bowl MVP. “That’s all he talks about. See how he plays on the field, and he’s there. He plays every day, and you have to be present. I think his teammates can count on it. But everything that comes out of his mouth is always about wins, not anything personal. And I think that rubs off on the rest of your organization, not just your teammates but the whole organization.”
Since retiring after the 2014 season, Jeter has started many successful business ventures. He is a co-creator of Arena Club, a revolutionary online marketplace and grading platform for sports cards that transforms the collecting experience through AI appraisal and blockchain storage.
“Honesty, transparency. I think those are the key. Safety number one. You want to know if you’ve given someone your cards to vault, that you can get them back when you want them in the same condition that you sent it to them,” said Jeter. “I’m not talking about any other companies out there, but I think there’s a lot of confusion sometimes just when you start talking about the grading. What’s the reason for a particular grade? You really wouldn’t get a reason for it. So, we wanted to bring honesty and transparency into the trading cards.”
Jeter has publicly supported Mahomes in recent years and penned a feature honoring him ahead of the 2020 Time 100 Most Influential People list.
For more information on Arena Club, please log on to their website.
