If Patrick Mahomes never played another snap for the Kansas City Chiefs, he would walk into the Hall of Fame in half a decade as a trailblazer, a patriarch at the quarterback position, and a wealthy one to boot.

But much to the dismay of the other 31 teams in the league, Mahomes plans on playing for a very long time, evidenced not only by a new deal that pays him record money, but by what he said years ago when referencing the career longevity of Tom Brady. Well beyond the Super Bowl rings that he’s chasing, there’s a new goal that seemed even loftier on the surface, but one that may be attainable after Wednesday.

Patrick Mahomes foresaw career longevity years ago

“I want to play as long as I can play, and I can still have a chance to help the team get better,” Mahomes said back in 2022, when asked if he wanted to play as long as Tom Brady. “Obviously, it’s hard to play until you’re 45 years old, and I don’t want to be out there just hanging on. You see what Tom is — he’s still playing at a very high level. I think that’s why it’s hard for him to kind of give it up – when you’re playing at a high level, you don’t want to leave it.”

One could argue that Mahomes, as he stares down his 30s coming off an ACL injury, may have played his best ball. But the same thing was probably said about Tom Brady when he tore his ACL, a year older, at age 31. All he went on to do was play another highly productive 14-season that resulted in multiple Super Bowls.

While Brady will always have the head-to-head advantage, Mahomes still has the potential to catch him if not pass him in milestones like All-Pros, MVPs, and of course, Super Bowl rings. But Mahomes will already pass Brady in one key metric, with an even bigger number now in reach.

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Patrick Mahomes can now target $1 Billion in career earnings

Ok, so to lay the groundwork here, when we’re talking about the income discrepancy between Brady and Mahomes, were reffering strictly to career earnings based on NFL contracts. In fairness to Brady, he took a ton of team-friendly deals (similar to Mahomes’ extension back in 2020), and the salary cap and contract AAVs have ballooned since he retired, much less since he started.

That being said, Tom Brady’s career earnings are $317 million and some change. Based on this new deal, Mahomes will be the first player to earn over half a billion dollars with a restructured deal that nets him $504.75 million over 8 years.

Here is where we crunch the numbers. That deal as presently constructed, runs through 2033, which would be Mahomes’ age-38 season. The $500 million over eight years on top of his current earnings, which total over $230 million, would put him north of $730 million at age 38.

But there are two things here. Number one is the lede of our article. If all else remains the same and Mahomes does aim to play into his mid-40s, that’s an extra seven years of earning potential. By that point, between the yearly increase in salary cap and the quarterback market, another $250 million is feasible.

But there is a chance that Mahimes gets there even before he touches 40. The Chiefs have restructured his contract multiple times since his massive extension in 2020, and there is no reason to believe they will stop between now and 2033.

So the $1 billion figure in terms of pure career earnings is very much in reach, and potentially within the decade if we account for more restructures, increased salary caps, ballooning quarterback markets, and above all else, Mahomes production.

That figure, coupled with some more hardware, could end the GOAT debate once and for all when 15 hangs up his cleats for the last time.