Patrick Mahomes: 2019 Tom Brady Visit Proved I Was 'Doing Things the Right Way'

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes fondly remembers the end of his 2018 season. He led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship in his first year as a starter, where they felt short against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Brady visited Mahomes in the locker room after the Chiefs' overtime loss, a moment that stands out to the 25-year-old as he prepares to face the 43-year-old and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Sunday's Super Bowl (h/t Adam Teicher of ESPN):

"It was important because it showed I was doing things the right way. As a young quarterback in this league, you show up early and you try to put in the time and put in the work. ... Him saying that he respected what I was doing and how I was playing on the field and the type of person I was, it kind of put a stamp on me that I needed to go in and even be even better in order to get to the Super Bowl."

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid remembered the moment when speaking to USA Today's Charles Goldman last week.

"I mean, he didn't have to do that," Reid said. "He is arguably the best quarterback to ever play the game, and he surely didn't have to come over and say a word. But he did that, and I think for a young quarterback to have somebody of his stature do that, I think was a tremendous gesture, and it was heartfelt."

After that disappointment—and that conversation—Mahomes led the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Now, after earning two victories against Brady (including one this season), he has a chance to win back-to-back titles against a player he still looks up to. 

The 25-year-old shared his admiration for the legendary quarterback Monday. 

"I grew up watching him play, and he's still here playing and he's still at the top of the game," he said. "I continue to watch him and watch the things that he does on and off the field in order to figure out the best way to make me the best player possible."

If Mahomes is able to upend Brady's quest for a seventh Super Bowl ring Sunday, there may well be a different postgame conversation between the pair.