Patrick Mahomes is not fazed by no longer being the NFL's highest-paid quarterback because his contract still means he is "set for life".
When he put pen to paper on a 10-year, $450million extension with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, Mahomes became the best-paid player in the league with an average annual salary of $45m.
However, deals signed by Aaron Rodgers, Kyler Murray and Deshaun Watson this offseason have bumped the Chiefs signal caller down to fourth on the list.
It is not something that matters to Mahomes, who expects he will slip further away from the top spot in the coming years.
"When I signed my deal, I knew I was going to be pretty set for life regardless of how the market happens,'' Mahomes said.
"You just keep playing. Money is one thing, but when you get those Super Bowl rings at the end of your career, I think that's going to be the thing that you look back upon. I think I've made enough money from the football field and off of it as well that it won't matter at the end of the day.
"Especially at the quarterback position, the next guy is the top-paid guy. Any of these top-tier quarterbacks, they make such a difference on NFL football teams that [older contracts are] going to get passed up.
"They'll keep setting the bar even higher. You always want to get paid and take care of your family, but I want to have a great team around me as well. Whatever way that is, I'm going to make sure I have a great team around me for the rest of my career."
The Chiefs placed the franchise tag on Orlando Brown last March but were unable to sign him to a long-term deal before last week's deadline, and it is unclear whether the left tackle will report for training camp next week.
"He's a great team player. He has a high IQ," Mahomes said. "You want him to be here just because of the guy he is, and he's a leader on this football team.
"But at the same time when it comes to money and contracts and stuff like that, I never force anyone to do anything because I know they're trying to provide for their family long term. But as a team-mate and as a friend, you want him to be here and be a part of this.
"It didn't work out for him this offseason the way that he wanted it to, but whenever he gets here I'm sure he will be ready to go and he'll go out there and show what calibre of player he is again."
Mahomes' 'scary' ankle injury 'not too bad'
Patrick Mahomes assured the ankle injury he sustained during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is “not too bad” despite hailing the incident as “scary”.
The quarterback led the Chiefs to their 14th straight win with 34 of his 44 passes completed for 291 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Bucs took them to overtime but the AFC West leaders prevailed to remain unbeaten following a 30-24 victory on Monday.
Mahomes had hobbled off with assistance at one point during the game, leading to concern ahead of the Chiefs' next game against the Denver Broncos, but he has provided some reassurance.
"[The injury was] definitely scary. I think it hurt more just because it's the same ankle I rolled last week, so it scared me a little bit,” he said.
“But once I took my breath and calmed down a little bit, it ended up being not too bad. We were able to go in there at the reset and go back on the football team."
It means it is likely Mahomes will return next week despite the reoccurrence of the injury on the same ankle, with head coach Andy Reid marvelling at the 29-year-old's resilience.
"I wasn't sure exactly where he was going to be with it. He might have the loosest ankles in America. It's ridiculous how he can come back from those things,” he said.
The victory also marked DeAndre Hopkins’ first home game as a Chief, as he finished with eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
"[Hopkins] is so good at winning one-on-one, so to be able to have him down in the red zone, third-down situations - he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows. You give him a chance down the field and he makes a play,” Mahomes said.
NFL: Chiefs stay perfect with OT win over Bucs
Kareem Hunt finished the game's lone overtime drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that kept the Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten with Monday's 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hunt powered into the end zone to conclude the 10-play, 70-yard series that gave Kansas City (8-0) its 14th consecutive victory, including play-off games, dating back to last season. The veteran running back finished the night with a season-high 106 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, including two to DeAndre Hopkins in the wide receiver's first home game as a Chief, to help the defending Super Bowl champions stay perfect despite the Buccaneers forcing overtime on Baker Mayfield's 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Miller with 27 seconds left in regulation.
Tampa Bay (4-5) opted to kick the extra point instead of attempting a potential game-winning two-point conversion, however, and never got the ball back again after losing the coin toss to begin overtime.
The Bucs trailed 10-7 at half-time following Mahomes' 1-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins late in the second quarter, but scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter to move ahead.
After Mayfield found Cade Otton for an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the period for a 14-10 lead, Tampa Bay's defence forced a three-and-out to help set up Chase McLaughlin's 47-yard field goal with 5:50 left in the third.
The Chiefs stormed back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, however. Mahomes capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown delivery to Samaje Perine to tie the game at 17-17, then later hit Hopkins for a go-ahead 5-yard strike with 4:17 remaining in regulation.
Kansas City's next possession stalled, though, to give Mayfield enough time to orchestrate a 10-play, 71-yard sequence that ended in Miller's tying touchdown grab.
Mayfield finished 23 of 31 with 200 yards and two touchdowns. Otton led the Bucs with 77 receiving yards on eight catches, while Rachaad White had a rushing touchdown for Tampa in the first half.
The Chiefs received 14 catches for 100 yards from Travis Kelce and 86 yards on eight receptions from Hopkins, playing his second game since being acquired by Kansas CIty from the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 24.
Cowboys quarterback Prescott reportedly expected to miss multiple weeks with hamstring injury
The path to the play-offs is now even tougher for the Dallas Cowboys.
Quarterback Dak Prescott will reportedly miss several weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The severity of the injury was determined following an MRI, and reported Monday from multiple media outlets.
Prescott is planning to get a second opinion, and the Cowboys have not decided if they will place him on injured reserve, which would keep him on the sideline a minimum of four games.
Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter.
He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.
The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.
They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.
Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.
In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.
There is some good news for the Cowboys, though, as star defensive end Micah Parsons is likely to return this Sunday after missing the last four games with a high-ankle sprain.
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