People in Kansas City consider Patrick Mahomes a superhero. He has won three Super Bowls and two NFL MVP awards, and he does extraordinary things on the football field.
However, people who are frustrated by Mahomes’s constant winning and controversial calls have started labeling him a villain, and the Chiefs quarterback is embracing that role.
Patrick Mahomes Likes the Villain Role As Long as He Keeps Winning
Mahomes, who is gunning for his fourth Super Bowl victory this postseason, is hated by many fans around the league. For at least a year, he has carried the title of “villain” — a role that does not seem to bother him much at all.
“I just like winning,” Mahomes said. “If you win a lot and that causes you to be the villain, I’m okay with it.”
Mahomes will lead the top-seeded Chiefs against the Buffalo Bills this weekend in the AFC Championship round of the NFL playoffs. The winner will represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.
Patrick Mahomes was asked if winning too much was causing him to become a villain:
"I just like winning. If you win a lot and that causes you to be the villain, I'm okay with it" pic.twitter.com/13HKLhSeqb
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 7, 2024
This isn’t the first time that Mahomes has talked about embracing the villain role.
Before winning his third Super Bowl last season, Mahomes spoke to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington about this label. Mahomes delivered a great response, comparing his current Chiefs team to the New England Patriots era that was guided by the remarkable Tom Brady.
“I can definitely sense it. I never felt like that because I’ve never been like that in my entire life. But it’s become a little bit funny. I don’t want to say you enjoy it. I know the Patriots had that for a while. I’m hoping we do it in a different way with a little bit more fun and personality with it,” Mahomes explained.
“But as long as you keep winning, teams start to not like you, and I want to keep winning. So if that means some of the other teams and other fan bases aren’t going to like me, I’ll try to still have a smile on my face and not be a bad example, but I can be that villain for them if they need me to be.”
This season, Buffalo Bills cornerback Cam Lewis said Mahomes earned the title due to his success on the field. He explained that the rest of the league wishes they could be as successful as Mahomes and Co.
“I feel like he earned it,” Lewis told FOX Sports. “LeBron [James], one of the greatest basketball players, and he gets a lot of hate from winning championships. Steph Curry. So that just comes with the success, man. I feel like that should be a compliment to [Mahomes]. … I mean, s***, he’s f***ing won Super Bowls. That’s what you’re trying to do in this league. He’s done it. So that’s why I’m saying he’s earned it.”
Mahomes’ teammates have defended him against the hate he receives.
“If you don’t have haters, you’re not doing something right,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid told FOX Sports. “So Patrick operates at a level of excellence — Patrick operates at a very high level consistently, and when you do that, then everybody’s watching. It’s natural that people want their team to win, or they want to see whoever’s the top dog fall off the mountain. So that just is what it is.”