Yahoo Finance Presents: Patrick Mahomes

Yahoo Finance Editor-at-Large Brian Sozzi speaks with NFL All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes about the recent changes to NFL overtime rules, Mahomes business investments with Airshare and Whoop, as well as what to anticipate ahead of the next NFL season.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] BRIAN SOZZI: Joining « Yahoo Finance Presents » now is Kansas City Chiefs star QB, Patrick Mahomes. Patrick, good to see you again. It was one year ago today that we last spoke. I am now a proud WHOOP strap user. So I thank you for passing along those good vibes to me. PATRICK MAHOMES: Oh, yeah, man, I’m always trying to spread the information everywhere. There’s a lot of things that I’ve kind of gotten into and WHOOP was one of the first ones, and they’ve been taking off ever since. BRIAN SOZZI: I’m going to flip the script, because last time when we talked, we talked about your business empire, and I definitely want to get into that. You said you were building an empire. I want an update on that empire, where you have been in the past 12 months. But let’s start on some football. There have been some big changes here. First, the new overtime rule. Both teams will get a shot at the ball in overtime. What are your thoughts? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I mean, I wish it had happened a couple of years earlier when I played against Tom in the playoffs, but I mean, I’ve had it both ways. I’ve had it where I’ve lost and I’ve obviously against the Bills this last year when we won in that first possession. So kind of what the rules are or what the rules are. I mean, it’s going to be different obviously in the playoffs, but your job is to find a way to win the game, no matter how long it takes. BRIAN SOZZI: Is it going to change how you play the game or prepare for the game? Does this change how you talk to your teammates in the huddle, in the locker room? How do you think about it? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I think it just– it’ll change your game plan on how you do overtime. Especially when you’re in those playoff situations, do you take the ball first? Do you try to get– do you try to let’s see what they do first and then you can kind of decide if you want either to go for a field goal or a touchdown. And there’s ways that you are going to have to scheme and do things. And I think it depends on what team you have and how the flow of the game is going. BRIAN SOZZI: Did it ever– did it always just seemed silly to you that the other team didn’t get the ball? PATRICK MAHOMES: I mean, it’s definitely different, especially in the playoffs. I mean, you don’t understand in the regular season because I mean, you don’t want to just continue to add quarters on guys as we continue to add games and all these different type of stuff. I mean, every play is another shot on your body, I guess you would say. So that definitely in the regular season, you understood it. But in the playoffs, it does hurt whenever you play a game that you feel like you should have a chance to go up there and win, and you don’t get a chance because the other team makes some plays and they score a touchdown before you even get the ball. BRIAN SOZZI: So is it fair to say you think this is a good decision for the NFL? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I mean, to me, it kind of is what it is. Whatever it would have happened I’d have been able to go out there and play. I’m sure there’ll be moments where you feel like it’s a good decision, but then there’ll be moments when you score that touchdown first and you feel like it’s a bad one. So you just go out there and play and try to win the game whatever way. BRIAN SOZZI: True that. You mentioned Tom. There really is only one Tom I suppose right now in the NFL. What do you think about Tom Brady’s comeback? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I mean, I don’t think it even really sat in that he retired before he was coming back. So it was– I kind of was having the wedding going on and all that different type of stuff. So before I even realized he retired, he was back, and I think that’s how Tom always been is. Until I see that there’s an NFL game played and he is not in the league, I don’t think I’ll ever really, truly believe that he’s retired. BRIAN SOZZI: You, belated congrats to on getting married. Of course, the Instagram photos. That is congratulations again to you on that. Do you want to play as long as Tom Brady? Do you see yourself– how old is he? 45 now. PATRICK MAHOMES: I want to play as long as they’ll let me. And I know that will take me taking care of my body, me continuing to build my family the right way, and making sure those relationships are always great and before football. And I think Tom’s done that in the right way. I mean, you can see how close he is with his family, but as well, how much he gives to football every single day. And so I want to– I mean, it’s a great model. If you want to play for a long time and have a lot of success, you got to do a lot of the same things that he’s done. Taking care of his body on and off the field. BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah, definitely trying to follow his lead. Apparently he walks around like a gallon of water a day and drinks a couple of them. So whatever he’s doing he must be doing it right. Another interesting to– understand thing too, and a stat I came across, once weeks one starts, as it stands right now, we have 11 different QBs start at that position. I mean, how do you explain that rate of change? 11 new QBs. PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I think it’s just how sports have kind of transitioned over these last few years. I mean, you look at basketball, you look at baseball, a lot of stars are going to different teams. And guys are trying to find the best opportunity for themselves and the best opportunities for those teams to try to win. I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what you want to do, is you want to have success as for yourself obviously, you want to have success on the team. And I think guys are trying to get to the best position for themselves for those two things, and there’s a lot more mobility. You can win and you can be marketable. You can do all that different type of stuff everywhere. So I think guys are just trying to find the best opportunities to go out there and win, and have success in the football field. BRIAN SOZZI: You had a pretty amazing playoff run. It was a real joy to watch from the outside looking in. How do you– how are you preparing to bounce back from that type of season? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I mean, we did a lot of things. We battled through a lot of adversity this year. We started off not the way we wanted to. We found a way to catch a groove, and then obviously we got to the AFC Champion Game, but we didn’t get to the Super Bowl. And that’s always our goal is to get to the Super Bowl and win it. So you’ve got to learn from your mistakes that you made throughout the season. You got to take away the positives that you did and try to be better the next year. I mean, everybody’s getting better, especially in our division. And so for us, we have to go out there and try to be better than we’ve ever been, and try to give ourselves another chance to compete for a Super Bowl. BRIAN SOZZI: How did you see yourself improve season over season, and what tweaks do you want to make your own performance moving forward? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, just continue to get better and better from within the pocket. I mean, I feel like I’ve always been able to make plays happen outside of the pocket. But when defenses know that, I mean, they’ve had a lot of tape on me just like I’ve watched tape on them. And they’re trying to do stuff to put me in bad situations and not letting me get outside the pocket and make things happen. So I have to be able to continue to get better from within the pocket, getting the ball out of my hands, taking what’s there when defense is playing these real deep coverages against me, and hopefully make positive plays happen that will help our team win football games. BRIAN SOZZI: Talk to me about your now– your business empire. Since we last spoke about 12 months from that last conversation, what have you been investing in? What have you been up to? PATRICK MAHOMES: I think I’ve just turned everything into crypto these days. No, I’m joking, no. I’ve done– I’ve done a lot. I mean, I’ve obviously stayed with the people that I’ve been true to me. People like Airshare, people like WHOOP, Hyperice, the places that I’ve been invested in for a long time that I truly believe in that do it the right way. And then I’ve kind of dabbled in little things here and there, like crypto, I mean, like NFTs, and stuff like that, I’ve kind of dabbled in. But for me just kind of just staying with the people that are true to me, that are growing as I grow, it’s something that I’ll always stay true with. BRIAN SOZZI: What are you doing in the crypto space? PATRICK MAHOMES: Well, I did the NFT, the first Museum of Mahomes, about a year and a 1/2 ago now, and so that was kind of the first thing that I kind of got into as far as NFTs and stuff like that. And I’ve kind of worked with some different companies. And we’re trying to work on something else to kind of bring light to that. We want to continue to evolve with that. And so we’ll see as we go. There’s a lot of different people doing the NFTs now, and I don’t want to do something that’s not great, do something that’s below what I believe is my standard. So it’ll be something that whenever I do release those, I’ll make sure it’s done the right way. BRIAN SOZZI: How do know when you’re just getting pitched trash? I imagine a person in your position you’re just constantly getting overloaded with just ideas and things that people want you to do. How do you know just say, no, I’m not doing that? PATRICK MAHOMES: Honestly for me, it’s about the people more than it is about the actual pitch. And I feel like I really try to invest in people more than I try to invest in what they’re trying to sell me. And you know that, if you get the people that are dedicated, and that are smart, and do it the right way, they can make stuff– they can make stuff work. And so that’s the biggest thing for me, is if I believe in the people and what they’re pitching me, it’s not just something that they don’t believe, It’s something that they truly believe in, that’s when they really can sell me on being involved with it. BRIAN SOZZI: How did you get involved with WHOOP? You’re about– you were about two years ahead of me on this. I can tell you there’s nothing– I don’t own any shares in WHOOP, I don’t have any involvement with the company, of course. But this is a product that has done great things for me personally. How did you come upon that relationship? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, it actually started with me, with my trainer, Bobby Stroupe. He actually– I don’t know how he got– he found it, but he wanted to track my data and stuff like that asleep, and how much I was training for my workouts and stuff like that. And so kind of like I was talking about believing in people. I believe in him, and I know he’s doing things the right way. And so once I started using it, like you have now, you learn all the different resources you get from it. And so that’s– I mean, that’s what I did. I believed in him and I ended up getting a great relationship out of it. BRIAN SOZZI: Are you still a part owner in the Kansas City Royals? PATRICK MAHOMES: I am. That’s a big part of what I do is I invest in the community that invest so much in me. And so for me I’m a part owner in the Royals. I have a little bit of part owning the Sporting KC, and like Airshare, another Kansas City based company that I just try to invest in because I know the people and how much they invest in me and know they do it the right way. BRIAN SOZZI: Do you see yourself as an owner after you’re out of the NFL? Or you can’t even look that far? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, it’s very far away. I know the NFL is probably the hardest one to become an owner– owner in. But I mean, it’s something that I want to be a part of sports. I want to be a part of sports my entire life, and obviously I’m not going to be able to play forever. I mean, Tom might prove me wrong, but I’m going to– I’m going to find a way to be a part of sports in whatever way possible. And that’s ownership, that’s coaching, that’s being in the front office, whatever that is I want to make sure that I’m part of it. BRIAN SOZZI: Lastly, there’s– we deal with a lot of big companies here at « Yahoo Finance. » Talk to a lot of really cool leaders, but you’re very much seen as a leader on and off the field. Any leadership tips that you could have offered to people starting their own businesses or they’re CEOs out there. How have you gotten the job done? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, I think it’s been– it started small and it’s grown, kind of as I’ve grown. As I’ve started with finding people that I truly believe in, I invest in them, and then as I learn more and more about things, I get that information first. I learn about it and then I invest in it. It’s not something that I’m just trying to go for these big splash things where I just throw all my money at one thing. It’s I started small and as I’ve continued to build wealth and build relationships, I’ve learned who do I really need to be partners with, and became who I am today. And hopefully, I can continue to do that. BRIAN SOZZI: Lastly, how is being a father changed you, your approach to the game? I think when we spoke last time your daughter was just born. So it’s about over a year now, right? PATRICK MAHOMES: Yeah, she’s 13 months now. So, I mean, it’s definitely changed– it changes your life. I mean, you have to really think about everything that you’re doing because you understand that it’s not only you. I mean, I have a wife now, I have a baby, baby girl, who’s 13 months. And so everything I do is kind of for them. I mean, I can’t just be going out there and playing football and have no other thoughts about it. It’s about building a legacy, doing something special that one day I’ll be able to leave for my kids. BRIAN SOZZI: Lastly, you’re winning the Super Bowl this year? PATRICK MAHOMES: I mean, that’s the goal always, and I think we got the team to do it. So as long as I have Coach Reid coaching and Brett Veach putting players around me, I think we’ll always have a chance. BRIAN SOZZI: All right, wish you much success in the season ahead. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Patrick Mahomes, thanks for joining us. PATRICK MAHOMES: Thank you. [MUSIC PLAYING]