{"id":245762,"date":"2025-09-09T13:30:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T17:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=245762"},"modified":"2025-09-09T13:30:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T17:30:59","slug":"top-earning-mahomes-faces-crucial-chiefs-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/09\/09\/top-earning-mahomes-faces-crucial-chiefs-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Top-Earning Mahomes Faces Crucial Chiefs Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes<\/a> turns 30 next week, but the milestone comes amid a testing start to his ninth NFL season. Three days before his birthday, Mahomes will lead the Chiefs into GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for a high-stakes clash with the Philadelphia Eagles\u2014a rematch of February\u2019s Super Bowl LIX.<\/p>\n

Mahomes Nears 30th Birthday as Chiefs Seek Spark After Opening Loss<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Chiefs
Aug 22, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) talks with head coach Andy Reid after a play against the Chicago Bears during the first half of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is not a game Mahomes is eager to revisit. Instead, he is urging his teammates and fans to look ahead and summon the energy needed to reset their campaign after a disappointing opener.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a big one coming up on Sunday. We are at home, baby! We\u2019ve picked up some lessons lately. We just need to turn things around, and fast,\u201d Mahomes said after Tuesday\u2019s practice.<\/p>\n

Rare Pressure Point<\/h4>\n

Since his 2017 debut<\/a>, he has never lost three consecutive games. That streak is now under threat. Having fallen to Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil, the Chiefs face the possibility of another setback against an Eagles team that already denied them a third straight championship in February.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never let that get into my head,\u201d Mahomes said of the looming record. \u201cThe stats are going to be there either way. What motivates me is doing my part to help the team\u2014and that is what matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Familiar Struggles<\/h4>\n

Friday night\u2019s 27-21 defeat to the Chargers exposed familiar problems<\/a>. Kansas City, dominant in close contests a year ago with a 12-0 record in one-score games, slipped at the first hurdle in 2025. The offense sputtered, while the defense struggled to contain Herbert\u2019s rhythm.<\/p>\n

Injuries and suspensions are adding to the challenge. Rookie wideout Xavier Worthy was sidelined against Los Angeles, and second-year receiver Rashee Rice remains out for another five games. That leaves Mahomes without two of his key weapons in the passing game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to match the energy or go a step further if we\u2019re going to have better results,\u201d Mahomes admitted. \u201cIt\u2019s early in the season, but we need momentum right away. The Chargers game is behind us, so is the Super Bowl loss. Now, we regroup and bring the energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glimpses of Magic<\/h5>\n

Even in defeat, Mahomes produced flashes of his trademark brilliance. He completed 24 of 39 passes for 258 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 57 yards and another score. At one point, he managed to launch a strike through three defenders while falling to the turf\u2014 perhaps a reminder that we should never count him out yet.<\/p>\n

Highest Earner Off the Field<\/h3>\n

Beyond the field, Mahomes continues to dominate financially. Forbes this week named him the NFL\u2019s highest earner, thanks largely to endorsements, licensing, and business ventures rather than his playing salary alone.<\/p>\n

The magazine reported that the league\u2019s top 10 earners will collect a combined $571 million in 2025, down 18% from last year\u2019s record but still the second-highest total since the rankings began. Mahomes sits atop the list, joined by teammate Travis Kelce and Green Bay Packers pass-rusher Micah Parsons as the only non-quarterbacks in the top 10.<\/p>\n

For Mahomes, though, records and rankings matter little compared to restoring momentum for the Chiefs. As he enters a new decade of life, his focus is firmly fixed on ensuring Kansas City gets back to winning ways.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Amanda Perobelli\/Reuters via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As he enters a new decade of life, Patrick Mahomes’ focus is firmly fixed on ensuring Kansas City gets back to winning ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5620,"featured_media":245784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,16],"tags":[7811,122,1576,46,339],"class_list":["post-245762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-chiefs","tag-chiefs-featured","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-patrick-mahomes","tag-philadelphia-eagles","tag-travis-kelce"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5620"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245762"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245785,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245762\/revisions\/245785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}