“I’ve always said I’m about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment,” Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes told the media back in 2023, despite signing a 10-year, $450 million contract in 2020 (which is now restructured). Interestingly, according to ex-quarterback trainer Jeff Christensen, Mahomes had that philosophy since the very beginning of his NFL career.

“He’s just wired different,” Christensen said on Fearless with Jason Whitlock. “It’s always risky for me to say it, but when I was with Patrick several years ago, when we first started working, I said, ‘What’s your get out?’ … And Patrick said, ‘My get out is when I win my 10th Super Bowl.’”

For context, Mahomes’ use of “get out” refers to the point at which he would consider retiring, not an immediate plan to leave football. His goal of winning 10 Super Bowls suggests he had already thought about what he wanted to achieve before ending his career, even in the early stages of his time in the NFL.

Unlike most players, Mahomes didn’t have a number for his career earnings. Well, for many, the “get out number” is subject to change when their paychecks get bigger. But that’s where Mahomes comes in with his difference.

Mahomes’ focus on winning could explain why he has been willing to work with the Chiefs on changes to his contract. Kansas City has adjusted his deal every year since 2023, with the latest move coming ahead of the 2026 season. The team turned $54.45 million of his 2026 salary into a signing bonus, reducing his cap hit for the year to $34.65 million, according to reports.

The change freed up $43.65 million in cap space for Kansas City. The latest adjustment marked the fourth straight year the team had restructured Mahomes’ contract.

During his conversation in QB’s rookie year (2017), Christensen told Mahomes that the young quarterback had “the skill to be the greatest quarterback ever born.”

However, Mahomes played only one game in his rookie year, where he recorded 22 completions for 284 yards. He got sacked twice and threw one interception. But things began to change in the subsequent seasons.

“Now, Pat, through all the stuff, his actions have matched his words vehemently,” Christensen continued. “He does not care about money. He wants to be the greatest. His action plan is exactly on schedule.”

Mahomes is in his 10th season with the Kansas City Chiefs and has become their franchise quarterback. He has already topped the franchise’s career passing charts with 4,864 passing attempts, 3,217 completions, 37,413 passing yards, and 276 passing touchdowns. However, his best performance came in 2022, when he completed 435 passes of 648 attempts for 5,250 yards and threw 41 touchdowns.

Right now, he’s in the top five on the list of quarterbacks with the highest passer rating, 100.5. He’s also the youngest player ever to win both a Super Bowl title and an NFL MVP award. In the 21st century, he’s the first player to win the Super Bowl and the MVP in the same season (2022).

The Chiefs quarterback showcased his talents back in January 2022, when, with 13 seconds left, Mahomes led a drive for a game-tying field goal, and the Chiefs won later in overtime over the Buffalo Bills. It became the clearest example of his late-game execution under intense pressure.

In his quest to win 10 Super Bowls, Mahomes has already appeared in five Super Bowl games and won three of them (LIV, LVII, and LVIII). But winning Super Bowls depends on several other factors, including a strong offensive line, a talented receiving corps, and staying in perfect health.

His performances even brought him into the same discussions as Tom Brady. People began discussing the duo and have been arguing about who’s the greatest. But for Mahomes, his team comes first.

“I care more about the legacy of our team,” the quarterback told the media back in 2025, ahead of Super Bowl LIX. “We’ve put in so much work and worked so hard that I want to be remembered for the team that we are and the team that we built here in Kansas City. I never really think about my legacy; I think about all the guys that I’ve played with and how they’ve kind of left their imprint on this team, and I want us to be remembered for that.”

Winning seven more Super Bowls to finish with 10 and move three ahead of Tom Brady feels nearly impossible in the modern salary-cap era. But doubting a quarterback who already owns three Lombardi Trophies in five Super Bowl appearances is a dangerous game. As long as that double-digit ring count remains his ultimate finish line, the rest of the NFL will have to deal with a relentless Mahomes for a very long time.

The post “My Get Out Is..”: Patrick Mahomes Had Already Made Up His Mind About Retirement in Rookie Year, Reveals Ex-Coach appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.