On the latest edition of the “Peter King Podcast,” Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed encouraging words offered by living legend Tom Brady shortly after Brady guided the New England Patriots to an overtime win over Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game back in January 2019.

“After stuff had calmed down and I was going through the back tunnels, he grabbed me and pulled me to the side,” Mahomes said about his interaction with Brady, per Andrew McCarty of The Spun. “All he really said was, ‘You’re doing it the right way, continue doing it the way you’re doing it.'”

Mahomes and Brady may forever be linked for multiple reasons. As of February 2024, Brady is the only signal-caller to defeat a Mahomes-led team on Super Bowl Sunday. Mahomes has thus far earned three Super Bowl rings and three Super Bowl Most Valuable Player awards, while Brady retired a seven-time Super Bowl champion and five-time Super Bowl MVP.

Shortly after Kansas City defeated the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LVIII earlier this month, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid shared how Brady previously handed “the keys” of the NFL over to Mahomes. During his chat with King, Mahomes elaborated on the special message he received from Brady roughly five years ago.

“That for me was a stamp of approval, I’m going to continue to work this hard,” Mahomes continued. “Because if he says I’m doing it the right way, that’s the guy you want to be saying that. Him seeing that from the other side of a football field and seeing the hard work I’ve put in and how I’ve developed in a season, that’s made me carry that mindset for the rest of my career.”

Some fans and analysts allow themselves to forget in an “embrace debate” sports society how remarkable it is that Mahomes’ name is even mentioned in G.O.A.T. conversations when he is just 28 years old and, theoretically, not yet in his prime as it pertains to being a complete quarterback. Perhaps the biggest shame of all regarding the two players is that fans only got to see a Brady-versus-Mahomes showdown once on football’s biggest stage before TB12 rode off into the sunset of retirement.