How Patrick Mahomes uses 30+ Whataburger locations and 4 team stakes to build an off-field empire beyond his $450 million deal

Patrick Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million extension with the Chiefs in 2020, and he has spent the years since turning part of that income into ownership. He holds stakes in four sports teams and sits inside KMO Burger, the group that operates 29 Whataburger restaurants across Kansas and Missouri and has aimed for 30 since day one. In June 2026, the Chiefs reworked his contract again, lifting it to $504.75 million through 2033, according to the Associated Press. The paycheck is the headline, but the stakes are where his long game sits.How does Patrick Mahomes build an off-field empire beyond his $450 million deal?Start with the paycheck, because it explains everything else. When Mahomes signed in July 2020, the headline number was $503 million. The base deal was $450 million over 10 years. The rest came from incentives and the last two years of his rookie contract. It was the richest contract in sports at the time, and it left one obvious question. What happens to a player whose income rides on a single left knee?Last December gave a blunt answer. Mahomes tore the ACL and LCL in that knee against the Chargers on Dec. 14, had surgery the next day and missed the last three games of a 6-11 season. He was back at practice by late May and was cleared without restrictions for the opener, according to reports. In June, the Chiefs reworked the deal again. The new version runs through 2033 at $504.75 million, with escalators that could lift it to $522.25 million, the AP reported. That averages $63.1 million a year.A salary depends on a healthy quarterback. A stake in a team or a restaurant group keeps working when he is on the sideline. That is the quiet logic behind every move below.How many Whataburger restaurants is Mahomes tied to?The story starts with ketchup. In 2018, Mahomes made his love for the brand public, and when Whataburger tweeted him a picture of its sauce and asked where to ship it, he wrote back, "I just want a store in Kansas City!"Three years later, it became a business. In August 2021, Whataburger announced KMO Burger, an investor-led franchise group that included Mahomes, with a plan for 30 restaurants from Wichita, Kansas, to St. Joseph, Missouri, over seven years. "I love Kansas City and I love Whataburger," Mahomes said at the time. The first KMO restaurant opened on June 7, 2022, on Parallel Parkway in Kansas City, Kansas, with a Mahomes jersey and a plaque for his No. 15 inside.The real jump came in May 2025. Whataburger put its 16 company-owned restaurants in the Kansas City and Springfield, Missouri, markets into a joint venture with KMO, which brought 13 of its own. KMO now operates all 29. "Our team at KMO Burger is ready to keep raising the bar," Mahomes said. Terms were not disclosed, so nobody outside the deal knows what his piece is worth. The chain itself had more than 1,100 restaurants in 16 states at that point, which makes this a regional franchise group, not a takeover of the brand.Which four teams does Mahomes own a piece of?The Royals came first. He bought into the Kansas City baseball club in July 2020, weeks after signing the extension, as a minority owner. A year later, on July 27, 2021, he joined the ownership group of Sporting Kansas City. ESPN reported that he had already attended at least 12 matches by then and had even led fans in a chant at Children's Mercy Park.The next two came close together. In December 2022, he joined the group behind the Miami Pickleball Club in Major League Pickleball, alongside Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios and agent Rich Paul. Forbes reported that expansion fees for comparable teams ran from $1 million to $3 million. Then, on Jan. 10, 2023, he joined his wife, Brittany, as an owner of the Kansas City Current in the NWSL. The club said he was the first active NFL player with equity in a team in that league.Put together, the list reads like a map of his interests: baseball, soccer, women's sports and a fast-growing paddle game.Why does Mahomes keep investing in Kansas City first?Three of the four teams sit in one metro area, and so do most of the burger restaurants. That is not an accident. In a mid-sized market, a face that fans trust can move a team's brand more than the same face would in New York or Los Angeles. The quarterback gets equity that grows with the city, and the city gets a hometown name behind its clubs.The Whataburger deal is the most telling piece, mostly because it is the least glamorous. A drive-thru that stays open around the clock is a daily, repeatable business. KMO also backs charities such as Make-A-Wish and Special Olympics through Mahomes' foundation, Franchise Times reported, so the restaurants carry some community weight too.None of it is risk-free. Minority stakes give little say over decisions, restaurant margins run thin, and a young pickleball league has not yet proved it will last. What keeps the mix sensible is scale. A $1 million to $3 million team buy-in is a small slice next to a $450 million deal.Can Mahomes own an NFL team one day?He says that is the goal. In 2023, when he joined an ownership group in Formula 1, Mahomes talked about owning an NFL team once he retires and noted that Tom Brady was already working on it. "That's definitely where you want to get to," he said, as ESPN relayed.The Chiefs now hold his contract through 2033, when he will be 38. Between now and then, the Whataburger group, the four teams and the Formula 1 stake read like a long application for a seat in the owners' box.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.