Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes lands on cover of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People

Mahomes spoke to TIME writer Sean Gregory about his rapid rise in the NFL and the GOAT debate between himself and other legends of quarterbacking like Tom Brady.

“I’ve had at least one of the top three starts to a career…I’ll put it that way,” Mahomes said. “You have to build a consistency of a career…You see that in any sport. I’ve had a great run. I think I’ve done a great job so far. But it’s hard to take away from what Tom did for so long, what Peyton Manning did, or Aaron Rodgers.

“There are so many guys, they were at such a high level for such a long time. In order to be in that conversation, you have to do that on a year-to-year basis. You can’t take it for granted that you did it the year before…That’s something I’ll talk about when I’m done playing…Then people can make those decisions.”

Family first for Mahomes 

At just 28 years old, Mahomes isn’t anywhere near close to wrapping up his career. With three Super Bowl titles in just five years, he has a resume to rival any great. He intends to keep stacking accomplishments until it interferes with one of his life’s other most important pursuits – being there for his children.

“I’ve looked, if I played until Tom [Brady]’s age, my daughter would be 19, 20 years old…I would love to play that long…At the same time, I want to be there for my daughter,” Mahomes said. “If I can do that, I’ll continue to play. But if I feel like it’s taking away from my family time, that’s when I’ll know it’s time to go.” 

Chiefs in their Taylor era

It’s no wonder that Mahomes made his debut in the top 100 most influential rankings in the same year that his team’s new biggest fan won the magazine’s Person of the Year honor. The former first-rounder told Gregory he credits Taylor Swift for the Chiefs’ new-found global influence.

“[The Chiefs] went from a nationwide team that was kind of global to a full global worldwide team,” Mahomes said. “That came from Taylor’s fanbase.”

Mahomes says he sees Swift putting the same effort that she puts into her music into learning football. It’s an attitude he respects from the multi-platinum artist. 

“I’ve met a lot of famous people now in my life…Taylor’s probably the most down-to-earth person that’s been on that stage for that long…” the Chiefs QB said. “She’s never not working…Even when she’s taking her downtime, she’s working on something. Shooting a music video or singing a song or writing a song. You can see it by how she talks.

“Even when she’s talking about football, when she’s learning it, you can see her business mind putting it together. It’s almost like she’s trying to become a coach. ‘Why can’t you try this, this, and this?’ She’s asking the right questions.”