Tom Brady retired as the NFL’s presumed best player of all time, having won seven Super Bowls while recording the most passing yards and touchdown passes in NFL history. Although many observers believe no one will catch Brady in regard to those achievements, Travis Kelce thinks Patrick Mahomes has a chance to reach that status.
The Chiefs tight end explained that he believes Mahomes eventually will pass Brady at the top of the all-time quarterback list.
Kelce made sure not to insult Brady, whom he said has all of his “respect” and “love.” However, the tight end thinks Mahomes is starting his career quicker, which gives him as good of a shot to reach Brady as anyone.
“I think right now, the rate that Pat is at, how he’s doing it, I think it’s a little bit more all on Pat than it was on Brady,” Kelce said on Wednesday’s episode of the I AM ATHLETE podcast. “At least Brady’s first couple of years, to where Pat is now, and that’s only going to keep evolving, and it’s only going to keep going up.”
Mahomes was named the NFL MVP in his first season as a starter in 2018 as a 23-year-old and has thrown for at least 4,000 yards in each of the past five seasons, with at least 30 touchdown passes in all but one of those seasons. Brady, on the other hand, didn’t throw for 4,000 yards until his age-28 season, his fifth season as a starter, and he first surpassed 30 touchdown passes in his seventh season as a starter.
However, Brady’s longevity is what separates him from the pack, as he remained at the top of his game until he retired at 45. Mahomes will need to play in the NFL a long time in order to challenge Brady’s feats, but Kelce believes he can do it.
“One-five has an ability to find a way to get things done even when it breaks down or he’s got to make this crazy throw across the field, and that’s just something you haven’t seen in the NFL, and he’s been doing it since his first snap, and I think he’s going to play a long, long time,” Kelce said. “So I think he’ll catch him in all the accolades.”
Still, Brady’s seven championships are his most impressive feat, and Mahomes needs five more just to tie that mark. Kelce conceded that winning that much will be Mahomes’s toughest task.
“I think the biggest thing is always going to be those Super Bowls,” he said. “That’s a lot of Super Bowls.”
