Why Travis Kelce Believes Tom Brady Holds ‘GOAT’ Status, For Now

Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes had numerous classic battles with teams including the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Brady is often viewed as the best quarterback of his generation with Mahomes taking the torch in the modern NFL.

The two talented quarterbacks split their six career meetings, with Brady taking the two postseason meetings in the 2018 AFC Championship game and Super Bowl LV.

Mahomes has started to build his legacy in pursuit of Brady, earning two championship rings. The Kansas City star still has five more championships to go to tie Brady, but the chase is an intriguing storyline in the NFL.

Mahomes’ favorite target tight end Travis Kelce recently weighed in on the debate of the sport’s best player, with the two quarterbacks as prime candidates.

“Obviously, I got all the respect for Tom Brady,” Kelce said on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, as transcribed by Dov Kleiman. “I wasn’t able to get to him in the playoffs, so I’ve (been) Tom Bradyed multiple times in my career, so I got all the love for hi. He’s the GOAT and the best to ever do it but I think right now the rate Pat is at, how’s he doing it, I think it’s more all on Pat than it was on Brady.”

Kelce alluded to years of Brady having top weapons and an elite defense that makes Mahomes more impressive. While that may be true in this season, Mahomes also enjoyed the benefit of explosive players such as Kelce and Tyreek Hill in his first few NFL seasons.

“At least Brady’s first couple of years to where Pat is now, and that’s only going to keep evolving and it’s only going to keep up,” Kelce continued. “I just think (Mahomes) has an ability to find a way to get things done even when it breaks down or he’s got to make this crazy throw across the field, and that’s something you haven’t seen in the NFL. He’s been doing it since his first snap and I think he’s going to play for a long, long time.”

While Mahomes has had quite an impressive start, even Kelce sees a remarkably steep mountain for the new-school quarterback to climb to catch Brady’s championship total.

“I think he’ll catch him in all the accolades, but I think the biggest thing is always going to be those Super Bowls,” Kelce added. “That’s a lot of Super Bowls.”

At 6-1, the Chiefs do have the best record in the AFC and could be poised for another Super Bowl run. Mahomes’ race toward Brady will continue to dominate NFL headlines for years to come.