For Pete's Sake

Fox Sports’ Nick Wright crushes NBC reporter for story on Patrick Mahomes’ future

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) laughs while sitting on the bench before an NFL preseason football game against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Kansas City.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) laughs while sitting on the bench before an NFL preseason football game against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Kansas City. nwagner@kcstar.com

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, his wife, Brittany, and their kids are currently in Europe enjoying a family vacation.

Mahomes, the two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP, loves spending time with 3-year-old daughter Sterling and 1-year-old son Bronze.

In an interview earlier this year with Time magazine, Mahomes cited his kids as a reason he likely wouldn’t play as long as Tom Brady, who retired at age 45.

“I’ve looked, if I played until Tom’s age, my daughter would be 19, 20 years old,” Mahomes said. “I would love to play that long. At the same time, I want to be there for my daughter. If I can do that, I’ll continue to play. But if I feel like it’s taking away from my family time, that’s when I’ll know it’s time to go.”

Sounds like Mahomes isn’t planning to retire any time soon, right?

NBC Sports’ Mike Florio, however, believes there could be whispers about how long Mahomes will continue playing. He wrote a story about it.

“He’s 28. He’ll be 29 on September 17. And as he gets closer to 30, the questions about how long he’ll play are inevitable,” wrote Florio, who previously floated rumors about coach Andy Reid considering retirement.

Inevitable? Chiefs fans certainly believe it’s a stretch. That includes Fox Sports’ Nick Wright, who took Florio to task on “First Things First.”

“Patrick Mahomes is closer in age to (Broncos) rookie Bo Nix than he is to (Pittsburgh’s) Russell Wilson,” said Wright, who grew up in Kansas City. “We are thinking, ‘You know what? Clock’s ticking, boys.’ Here’s how my pal Mike closes the piece, we can add to it: ‘Regardless, expect Mahomes to get plenty of questions on his long-term plans.’

Florio, I don’t expect that! I gotta tell you right now. I don’t think Patrick is gonna get a single question at a press conference (asking), ‘Hey Pat, retirement? Is retirement on the horizon?’”

Co-host Chris Broussard and Wright giggled as they discussed the potential of retirement talk for Mahomes in the near future.

Wright believes NFL media members like Florio are searching for ways to critique the Chiefs after being burned by writing them off when they struggled at times in the regular season. The Chiefs then cemented their dynasty by winning Super Bowl LVIII.

Chiefs fans unloaded on Florio, too, all across the social media site X.

This story was originally published June 28, 2024 at 8:46 AM.

Pete Grathoff
The Kansas City Star
From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete Grathoff has done a little bit of everything since joining The Kansas City Star in 1997.
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