It’s a busy time for Patrick Mahomes. The star quarterback is just starting preseason with the Kansas City Chiefs, and it was announced last Tuesday that he's joined Sporting Kansas City's ownership group.
His two worlds collided, in a sense, leading Mahomes to detail why he wanted to become an MLS owner.
“It started a few years back and then building that relationship with the Illigs, the people over there at Sporting,” Mahomes said from the Chiefs' practice facility Saturday. “I just love the way they run their business and how they kind of really invested into that team.”
Mahomes’ fiancee Brittany Matthews, a former soccer player, is part of Kansas City NWSL's ownership group.
"That’s her thing and I wanted to do my own thing in a sense,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes, who was drafted by the Chiefs in 2017, also wanted to support the Kansas City community, where soccer plays such a large role.
“Being a part of that was something special,” Mahomes said.
What Mahomes said he didn’t think about was the fact that Clark Hunt, the Chiefs’ chairman and CEO, is also part of FC Dallas’ ownership group.
That, Mahomes said, should spark some friendly MLS-centric banter going forward.
“We’ll have a friendly little rivalry in that sense,” Mahomes said. “But at the same time, he’s a great owner and Clark is a great guy, so it will be nothing more than a friendly little rivalry.”