Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said that he probably would have stayed at Texas Tech for his senior year had NIL existed when he played.
Mahomes provided that response in a Q-and-A with Pete Krathoff of the Kansas City Star in response to this question:
“If NIL were around when you were in college, what would your deal have been?”
“It would have been a good amount of money, especially for Lubbock, Texas,” Mahomes responded.
“If I would have been able to get NIL, I probably would have stayed for my senior year, and who knows what the rest of my NFL history would have been?”
Mahomes, who threw for 41 touchdowns and 5,052 yards in his final collegiate season, played at Texas Tech from 2014-2016. NIL came into existence in July 2021.
Mahomes would have entered the 2017 season as one of the biggest names in college football.
He was a highly touted NFL prospect as is, going 10th overall to the Chiefs in the drraft.
It’s impossible to guess how much Mahomes would have made, but it’s certainly possible that he could have earned a seven-figure NIL valuation. Thirteen college football quarterbacks or recruits have $1 million valuations or more, per On3.
That number may have been less in 2017, but Mahomes was so electric and productive at that point that he would have likely done very well.
Of course, staying an extra year would have likely altered the course of NFL history. The Chiefs traded up from No. 27 to No. 10 in 2017 to get Mahomes, who sat the year behind Alex Smith. If Mahomes stayed, he could have very well been the top choice in the 2018 NFL draft and gone to the Cleveland Browns at No. 1. Kansas City would have had the No. 22 pick, although the team traded its Round 1 selection to the Buffalo Bills in the 2017 trade.
Ultimately, Mahomes landed with the Chiefs, who have enjoyed three Super Bowl wins under the ex-Texas Tech star’s watch. They’ll look to make it four Super Bowl wins in six years (and three straight overall) in 2024.
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Source: USA Today
