NFL
The face of the NFL: Brady becomes Mahomes
After Tom Brady’s retirement, many believe he is the new face of the NFL: Patrick Mahomes. photo
© Ed Zurga/AP/dpa
For decades, the path to attention in the NFL has been Brady, Brady, Brady. After the end of the superstar’s career, his successor as the face of the league has long been certain.
Patrick Mahomes is still miles away from Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl victories. So far, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has raised the Vince Lombardi Trophy once in the night sky. Nevertheless, it is completely undisputed who will succeed him as the face of the National Football League after the final retirement of the NFL superstar.
“You have to be honest: Patrick Mahomes is probably the new and best quarterback in the world,” said Sebastian Vollmer of the German Press Agency before the Super Bowl between Mahomes Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night (12:30 a.m. CET). . “What the man does, has done and will do is, I think, unchallenged. We all know how good he is.”
Hours after that verdict, Vollmer, a former Brady teammate and two-time Super Bowl champion, honored Mahomes as the Main Round Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career. An outstanding haul after just six years in the league and at the age of 27. “He’s a step ahead. He’s playing chess out there, he always has three or four actions up his sleeve depending on what the defense is doing. That’s why he’s going to be the greatest of all time,” praised Travis Kelce, his congenial teammate the chiefs.
Focus on Stars
And it’s like this: A functioning team is more important in American football than in almost any other sport. Without a Kelce as a pass station, without blocking teammates to keep opponents at bay, or without receivers to catch his passes, there are no spectacular touchdowns. And yet, especially in the US media, everything is always and constantly focused on individuals. The Super Bowl is usually not advertised with the logos of the Chiefs and the Eagles in TV broadcasts, video clips and graphics, but with the faces of Mahomes and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Because of the helmets on their heads, many NFL professionals can leave the house largely unmolested in their own city – but every child knows the faces of the top stars.
So far, Brady has been the ultimate, having been in the league for 23 years and retiring last week with his name behind all relevant NFL records. As a TV expert with an insane fee of 375 million US dollars for ten years, he regularly comes back to the fans’ screens. However, only in a year and a half – the coming season the 45-year-old would like to prepare for the new task and learn to be among the best again quickly.
“The league is in good hands”
Vollmer, who is friends with Brady and was involved in two of the seven Super Bowl victories as a pro with the New England Patriots, has no worries about the NFL without Brady as a figurehead and superstar. “The league is in good hands: whether it’s Mahomes, whether it’s Hurts, whether it’s Lamar[Jackson]- the new generation, even though they’ve been in the league for years, offer really, really good football “, he said. Mahomes is far from the only quarterback who also poses a threat from the position when he doesn’t pass the ball and runs himself – something Brady was never really good at during his career.
“There are many very, very talented players in the league and also many with a great history,” said NFL Germany boss Alexander Steinforth, the German Press Agency. “But you can see that Patrick Mahomes stands out as someone who has incredible ability and has a history of getting very, very far in the season at a relatively young age.” The fact that Mahomes will definitely play a main round game in Germany with the Chiefs one year after the premiere with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the coming season is a gift for the growth of the NFL in this country. And maybe he will not only come as a two-time MVP, but also as a two-time Super Bowl champion.