"I need to take my game to that next level": When Patrick Mahomes chose to give football all of his attention

Patrick Mahomes, arguably the best QB of the current generation, will undoubtedly be a Hall of Famer in the future. He is already up in discussion with greats like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers. His arrival at the Kansas City Chiefs has changed the NFL as we witness another dynasty after Brady’s New England Patriots.

But this wouldn’t have been the case if Mahomes hadn’t taken a critical decision back in 2015 when he was still in college. The Chiefs QB played football in college but never actually preferred the NFL over MLB. Nobody can blame him since Patrick Mahomes Sr. played in the MLB for 11 seasons. In an interview with GQ Sports in July 2020, Mahomes recalled:

“I was like, ‘I need to work out. I need the weight room to be something different for me. I need the film study to be different for me. I need to take my game to that next level.’”

Patrick Mahomes was advised by Kliff Kingsbury to switch

The thought came to Mahomes’ mind after candid advice from his former coach at Texas Tech, Kliff Kingsbury, after his sophomore season with the Red Raiders.

"I know you love baseball. But if you focus on football for one full year, I think you'll be a first-round draft pick next year.”

Mahomes's love for baseball comes from his childhood when he would attend some training sessions on the field with his father and Alex Rodriguez of the NY Yankees. Later, he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round of the 2014 draft, but Mahomes rejected the offer as he wanted to pursue a college education instead.

Patrick Mahomes levels up his game in football

Patrick Mahomes Sr. was a bit disappointed with his son’s decision, as he told the Fort Worth Star Telegram in January 2019:

"Probably since he was about 5, I thought he was going to have a chance to do some special things,” he said. “I just thought it would be baseball.”

The younger Mahomes was interested in pursuing a career in baseball but switched to football. A snowstorm forced Mahomes to skip baseball games in 2015 for some spring football activities. The following season, he recorded his best numbers with 5000+ yards and 41 TDs with a pass completion rate of 65.7%. Eventually, he was drafted with the 10th pick in 2017 by the Kansas City Chiefs.