“We intentionally didn’t do..”: How Patrick Mahomes’ early strategy helped turn his rookie-year restraint into a business empire beyond NFL

Patrick Mahomes had endorsement offers waiting for him before he had established himself as the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting quarterback. Yet during his rookie season in 2017, Mahomes and his representatives deliberately kept those opportunities limited. They wanted his first year to focus on football, the Chiefs locker room and learning from veteran quarterback Alex Smith.That decision looks very different today. Patrick Mahomes has built one of the NFL’s strongest commercial profiles, but his business interests now go beyond advertisements. His portfolio includes sports ownership, investments and partnerships that have helped turn his name into a business brand away from the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes chose football before endorsements as a rookieThe Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes with the 10th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft after trading up for him. However, Andy Reid kept Alex Smith as the starter, leaving Mahomes with just one appearance during his first season. He finally started the Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos on December 31, 2017, after Kansas City had already secured the AFC West. Mahomes completed 22 of 35 passes for 284 yards and one interception in the Chiefs’ 27-24 victory.That limited playing time shaped his approach to endorsements. In an ESPN report published on June 4, 2018, Mahomes’ agent Leigh Steinberg explained that the team wanted the young quarterback to first settle into the Chiefs’ environment.“We intentionally didn’t do endorsements that would run in the Kansas City area even though they were offered,” Steinberg told ESPN. “We didn’t want him to be on billboards and everything when he wasn’t even playing.”The decision also reflected Mahomes’ own priorities. On June 7, 2018, after a Chiefs OTA practice, Mahomes explained his thinking to reporters. “I wanted to go in and grind and work,” he said, adding that he cared more about playing football and winning games than chasing those opportunities at that stage.Patrick Mahomes 2018 breakout opened the commercial floodgatesThe Chiefs trade Alex Smith to Washington on January 30, 2018, clearing the path for Mahomes to become the starter. He responded with one of the best debut seasons in NFL history, throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns while winning the 2018 NFL MVP award.His commercial profile rose alongside his production. In October 2018, the Kansas City Business Journal reported that the Chiefs were already dealing with a surge in sponsorship, endorsement and business requests around their new star quarterback.Then came one of the clearest examples of Mahomes turning his personality into business value. On December 19, 2018, Hunt’s announced his endorsement deal after his love of ketchup became a widely discussed part of his public image. Mahomes had filmed his first Hunt’s promotional video five days earlier, on December 14.From there, the list grew to include major names such as Adidas, Oakley, State Farm, DIRECTV, Head & Shoulders, Hy-Vee and Essentia Water.But Patrick Mahomes eventually pushed the strategy further. Instead of simply earning money from brands, he began taking ownership stakes and investing in businesses. His portfolio has included the Kansas City Royals, Sporting Kansas City, the Kansas City Current and the Alpine F1 team, while he has also invested in companies such as Hyperice and Whoop. Forbes lists him among the NFL’s most commercially successful athletes in 2026.His connection to Kansas City has grown with that portfolio. Patrick Mahomes joined the Kansas City Current ownership group in 2022 alongside his wife, Brittany Mahomes, becoming the first active NFL player to hold equity in an NWSL team.So, the rookie-year decision was not simply about rejecting endorsement money. Mahomes and his team wanted football to establish his value first. Almost a decade later, that patience has helped shape a brand that now reaches far beyond the Chiefs and the NFL.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.