LAS VEGAS -- For the second straight year, the Super Bowl will include a marquee quarterback matchup featuring both Patrick Mahomes and an opposing 24-year-old signal-caller, with the San Francisco 49ers' Brock Purdy following the Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts as young challengers to the Kansas City Chiefs' throne.
The ascending talent on the other sideline doesn't go unnoticed by Mahomes, who at 28 is still just six years into his career as a starter himself. Asked what the consecutive big-game QB matchups say about the state of the position, the Chiefs star was complimentary, touting the NFL's ability to produce next-generation standouts under center.
"I think it says a lot of great things," Mahomes said. "To be able to play in the Super Bowl and have a lot of young quarterbacks in there to gain this experience, it shows that the league is trending in the right direction. I mean, obviously Tom [Brady] won a million of them, but with him being gone, for other guys to step up and to be in this game, it truly shows that the league is going in the right direction. And hopefully we can keep evolving."
There's just one caveat: Mahomes doesn't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, either.
"But hopefully I'm here a lot," he continued, "so even if I get old, I wanna keep getting back."
Asked #Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes about the state of the QB position, now that he’s facing 24-year-old QBs in back-to-back Super Bowls. It’s “trending in the right direction,” but he plans to stick around and compete for Lombardis until he’s “old.” pic.twitter.com/LCh7XoopkN
— Cody Benjamin (@CodyJBenjamin) February 6, 2024
Earlier Monday, addressing reporters at Opening Night, Mahomes said he hasn't given much thought to the possibility of matching Brady's record seven Super Bowl titles. But if he truly intends to suit up for decades as Brady once did, fending off whichever ascending QB and contender lies on the other side, who's to say No. 15 can't make more history as his legacy builds?
Beating Purdy and the 49ers on Sunday would give Mahomes three rings before the age of 30, and Brady didn't secure his fourth Lombardi Trophy until his 15th NFL season, at age 37.
Super Bowl LVIII between Mahomes' Chiefs and the 49ers will go down Feb. 11 on CBS. The game will also be broadcast on Nickelodeon and streamed on Paramount+.
