Quarterbacks are the unquestioned stars in the NFL. They get the biggest contracts, the camera is on them constantly, they’re in demand for interviews and their jerseys are among the league’s top sellers.
Super Bowl LV will deliver a tantalizing quarterback matchup with Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady, who at age 43 has a postseason resume unmatched in NFL history, going against the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, who although he’s only 25 is looking to win a second Super Bowl.
It’s the young gun against the wily veteran, one who admittedly can still sling it.
Although they’re connected by football, Mahomes and Brady share many similarities off the field. There are differences, too, as one would expect from men born 18 years apart.
Here’s a look at the lifestyles of Mahomes and Brady.
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
Mahomes grew up in East Texas. He was born in Tyler, Texas, and attended school about 10 miles down the road in Whitehouse, which has a population of fewer than 8,000 people. Mahomes was a Dallas Cowboys fan who watched a lot of Tony Romo’s games a decade ago.
Brady was raised in San Mateo, California, a city of more than 100,000 about 20 miles from San Francisco. A 49ers fan, Brady idolized former San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana (who later played for the Chiefs) during the franchise’s heyday in the 1980s.
RIDING IN STYLE
Brady put his custom Cadillac Escalade on the market last year with an asking price of $300,000. It was just one vehicle in an impressive collection. According to HotCars.com, Brady also owns two Aston Martins, a Ferrari M458-T, a Rolls Royce Ghost and a Bugatti Veyron Supersport.
Last July, Mahomes acquired a Ferrari 812 Superfast, which is billed as the car company’s fastest automobile, capable of reaching 60 mph in fewer than 3 seconds. The price tag? A cool $338,000. No word on whether Mahomes hopes to get a fleet of cars, but the Ferrari is a nice start if he goes that route.
SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
Mahomes got engaged last summer to longtime girlfriend Brittany Matthews. The couple began dating at Whitehouse High School when he was a sophomore and she was a junior. Mahomes’ personal trainer, Bobby Stroupe, told The Star last year: “She keeps stress off him. Patrick is not a confrontational person. It’s understated, what she does.” The couple are expecting their first child, a baby girl, sometime this year.
In 2006, when Brady was 29, he met supermodel Gisele Bündchen and she fell hard. “I knew right away — the first time I saw him,” she told Vanity Fair. “We met through a friend. The moment I saw him, he smiled and I was like, ‘That is the most beautiful, charismatic smile I’ve ever seen!’” The couple married in 2009. They have three children.
HOME FRONT
Late last year, Brady and Bündchen sold their mansion in Brookline, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe reported the 12,112-foot home had initially been listed at $39.5 million, fell to $33.9 million, then was taken off the market, so the final selling price is unknown. The couple also sold their condo in New York for a reported $36.8 million earlier this year.
Mahomes told NBC’s Dan Patrick last week that he and Matthews recently bought a piece of land in Kansas City and plan to build their own home there. The couple’s current home in Kansas City has a room dedicated to Mahomes’ enormous shoe collection.
THE BRAINY BUNCH
When he was at Texas Tech, Mahomes wowed his coach, Kliff KIngsbury, who said Mahomes has a photographic memory. After being taught a play, Mahomes had the ability to walk through it on the field and “nail it,” said Kingsbury, who is now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Mahomes’ agent has said this helps Mahomes avoid making the same mistake twice.
Brady keeps his mind sharp using “cognitive exercises” from a company called Brain HQ. It is part of his TB12 Method. Here’s a description from the TB12 website: “Think of it as a personal gym, where you exercise your memory, attention, brain speed, people skills, intelligence and navigation instead of your abs, delts, and quads.”
‘AND …. ACTION!’
You can’t watch an NFL game these days without seeing Mahomes’ face during the commercial breaks. He has been featured in spots for State Farm, Head & Shoulders, Oakley, DirecTV and EA Sports. Mahomes is also featured in local commercials in the Kansas City area with Hy-Vee, GEHA and CommunityAmerica credit union.
Brady has done a number of commercials, as well, but he’s also had cameos in “Entourage,” the TV show and movie, and has appeared in the “Ted 2” and “Stuck on You” movies, as well as on “Saturday Night Live.”
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS
While at Michigan, Brady had season highs in pass attempts (323) and passing yards (2,427) in 1998, which was his junior year. He threw for 14 touchdowns that season. In his career with the Wolverines, Brady had 30 touchdown passes and 4,773 passing yards in 29 games.
Mahomes threw for 5,052 yards and 41 touchdowns … in just his junior season. That was over 12 games. For his three-year career, Mahomes piled up 11,252 passing yards and 93 touchdowns. He attempted 1,349 passes in 32 games.
ON THE MENU
Brady’s dietary choices are well-known. But in an interview with Men’s Health, Brady said each day he drinks 12 to 25 glasses of water. He keeps his refrigerator stocked with kale, spinach and cucumbers, along with plenty of fruit. On game days he eats an almond butter and jelly sandwich and drinks a smoothie.
When Mahomes let Postmates reveal his favorite online food orders, he admitted to not being a fan of vegetables. But he does eat green beans. He also likes the Z-man barbecue sandwich from Joe’s Kansas City, and eats fast food from Chick-fil-A and Chipotle. One of his go-to pregame foods is the grilled chicken sandwich from Potbelly.