Patrick Mahomes has modestly downplayed his place in the NFL's greatest of all time (GOAT) debate.
Despite leading the Kansas City Chiefs to four Super Bowl appearances in the last five years and securing three victories, the 28-year-old believes he still has a long way to go to be regarded in the same league as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers.
Mahomes, a Texas Tech alumni and three-time Super Bowl MVP, is widely considered the best playcaller in the NFL today. Yet he insists that he needs to continue performing at a high level for many more years before he can be counted among the sport's elite.
Brady, who led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl wins and added another victory with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at age 43, is generally regarded as the NFL's greatest ever quarterback. Brady's final triumph came at Super Bowl LV - against Mahomes.
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In a recent interview with TIME, Mahomes was asked about the GOAT debate. The young quarterback, who is the first player in history to win three Super Bowl MVPs by the age of 28, responded humbly. "I’ve had at least one of the top three starts to a career," he said when asked about his NFL exploits. "I’ll put it that way."
Mahomes has placed himself below NFL legends, stating he's "nowhere near" the likes of Brady and other icons. The Chiefs star elaborated: "You have to build a consistency of a career. You see that in any sport.
"I’ve had a great run. I think I’ve done a great job so far. But it’s hard to take away from what Tom did for so long, what Peyton Manning did, or Aaron Rodgers."
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Patrick Mahomes is the NFL's dominant quarterback right now (Getty Images)Manning clinched Super Bowl XLI with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007 and then repeated the feat in 2016 with the Denver Broncos. Rodgers, currently with the New York Jets, secured Super Bowl XLV in 2011 while playing for the Green Bay Packers.
Some suggest Mahomes has already outshone the careers of Manning and Rodgers, who each claimed the Super Bowl MVP title once. Only Brady, with five, and Joe Montana, with three, have also earned the Super Bowl MVP award on three or more occasions.
When it comes to Super Bowl victories, only three quarterbacks have notched up more than Mahomes: Brady with seven, Terry Bradshaw of the Pittsburgh Steelers with four (and two Super Bowl MVPs), and Montana with four for the San Francisco 49ers.
But Mahomes is staying grounded. He stated: "There are so many guys, they were at such a high level for such a long time. In order to be in that conversation, you have to do that on a year-to-year basis. You can’t take it for granted that you did it the year before."
Mahomes is also not willing to discuss whether he's the greatest of all time until his career has finished. "Then people can make those decisions," he continued.
* AnAItoolwas used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
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