Arrowheadlines: Adidas couldn’t lose out on Patrick Mahomes after turning down Michael Jordan

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How Patrick Mahomes could be the next Michael Jordan | Arrowhead Addict

Even Adidas wanted their shot at Mahomes, and they did not miss out. Despite Mahomes’ alma mater of Texas Tech being partnered with Under Armor and the NFL’s partnership with Nike, he charted his own path with Adidas.

As it was revealed in The Last Dance, Michael Jordan desperately wanted to ink a deal with Adidas, and the company turned down MJ who later went on to sign with Nike and create a global brand that to this day is a multi-million dollar business.

Everyone wants a pair of Jordans. The NFL has never had a star like that, a star who turned into an actual lifestyle brand, a player who transcends football apparel or even the sport itself. Patrick Mahomes could be the first NFL athlete with that gravitational pull.

After missing out on the greatest player to ever grace the hardwood, Adidas was not going to make the same mistake on the gridiron. If Mahomes keeps up this pace of winning while remaining the most likable figure in the sport, the brand and athlete can parlay this into more than just big money.

Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes consensus favorite to win NFL MVP | ESPN

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the consensus favorite to win the 2020 NFL MVP Award, with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on his heels.

At Caesars Sportsbook, Mahomes is 4-1 to win what would be his second regular-season MVP award in the past three years. Jackson, last season’s MVP, is 13-2 at Caesars to win the award again this year.

Pass/fail: Assessing NFL’s best, worst quarterback situations | YardBarker

Best: Chiefs

ROBINSON: The Saints may have a superior stable of quarterbacks. They would trade it for Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs made one of the all-time great draft trades when they gave up first- and third-round picks to vault from pick No. 27 to No. 10 and select Mahomes in 2017. He transformed a high-floor team with a defined ceiling into a Super Bowl champion.

Tyreek Hill is the most prolific long-touchdown scorer in NFL history | Arrowhead Report

These four players — Randy Moss, DeSean Jackson, Devin Hester and Tyreek Hill — are the only four players that are in the conversation. Moss is the king of 25-50 yard scores but then really fell off the long-distance leaderboard, while DeSean Jackson gets credit for being in the top 5 at every distance from 25-70 yards, and Devin Hester is the GOAT kick returner and has the record with the longest scores. But there’s Tyreek Hill, at either 1st or 2nd place at every distance marker. No matter how long the touchdown is, Hill is in the top two at every measure.

What Fifth-Year Option Decisions Teach Us About How NFL Teams Evaluated Their 2017 Drafts | The Ringer

10. Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs

2021 option: Roughly $24 million (exercised, duh)

The Chiefs traded up to this spot to take Patrick Mahomes because Andy Reid saw flashes of Brett Favre in him. In two seasons as a starter, Mahomes has already been named MVP of the regular season and the Super Bowl. That alone makes him not only one of the best picks of this draft, but one of the best picks in years. He joined Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in 2018 as the only players with 50 passing touchdowns in a season, has reached two AFC championship games, and starred on the cover of Madden. Mahomes should become the highest-paid player in NFL history at some point in the next 14 months, possibly becoming football’s first $40-million-per-year man (not counting Roger Goodell).

Bills-Chiefs ranked NFL’s third-best game on primetime | Bills Wire

Of all Buffalo’s prime-time games, this one could be the toughest. But, the Bills do also play the 49ers, on the road, on primetime. That’ll be a very tough meeting as well.

But the Bills might have a bit of an edge on KC. During Thursday Night Football, the road team is usually at a disadvantage. Having to travel on a short week usually has bad side effects. But then again, the Chiefs are a very good team, so regardless, if the Bills do top the champs, it’ll be a message sent across the league.

2020 Offseason Report Cards for Every NFL Team | Bleacher Report

Kansas City Chiefs

Free Agency/Trade: C+

2020 NFL Draft: C

Overall: C+

The Kansas City Chiefs are defending Super Bowl champions. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with them maintaining the status quo, which is largely what they have done this offseason.

Kansas City made an effort to retain its own players, franchise-tagging defensive lineman Chris Jones and re-signing cornerback Bashaud Breeland, quarterback Chad Henne, wideout Demarcus Robinson and running back Damien Williams.

The Chiefs didn’t draft for value, adding former LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire at the bottom of Round 1 and linebacker Willie Gay Jr. in Round 2. Running backs rarely represent value in Round 1, while Gay was graded as a third-round pick by Miller.

Around the NFL

Logan Ryan says Titans ‘never really tried to bring me back’ | ESPN

“It’s just a business,” Ryan said on fellow Rutgers alums Devin and Jason McCourty’s ”Double Coverage” podcast. “Tennessee really never offered me a contract. They never really talked extension or free agency. They never really tried to bring me back.”

Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins agree to terms on rookie deal | NFL.com

The quarterback has agreed to terms with Miami on his rookie contract, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday. The contract is a four-year deal worth $30.28 million and includes a fifth-year option and a signing bonus of $19.6 million. The pact is fully guaranteed, Rapoport added.

These contracts aren’t all that much to write home about anymore, as we’re more than a decade removed from the olden days of rookie deals, when the highly touted newcomers could leverage their newfound value and hold out for more money. Some holdouts lasted into training camp back then, but with both the last collective bargaining agreement and the new CBA ratified in March, rookie salaries have since been relegated to a slotting system. Tagovailoa’s place as the No. 5 overall pick scheduled him to be paid the aforementioned total. All that’s left to figure out is the size of a signing bonus and the language of the contract.

Patriots, Ravens among NFL teams with biggest chip on shoulder | NFL.com

New Orleans Saints

It’s somehow underrated how the past three seasons have crumbled for the Saints:

2019: Despite a shiny 13-3 record, New Orleans mistakenly taps the ejector seat in a gory 26-20 overtime loss to the 10-6 Vikings.

2018: Unless you stumbled upon pro football 14 minutes ago, you know what happened in a controversy-doused 26-23 overtime loss to the Rams in the NFC title game.

2017: New Orleans submits in unthinkable fashion to the Vikings in a divisional-round tilt known to humans as THE MINNEAPOLIS MIRACLE.

The 20 players who most need a rebound season in 2020, from Baker Mayfield to Xavier Rhodes | CBS Sports

Philip Rivers

IND • QB

There’s no getting around it; last season was very bad for Rivers, but Frank Reich is trusting that he still is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. The Colts were on the precipice of the Super Bowl with Andrew Luck, but his sudden retirement as well as several big injuries forced the Colts to take a step backwards in 2019. Indy also surrounded Rivers with some potentially big-time weapons such as Michael Pittman and Jonathan Taylor in the draft. If this roster can stay healthy and Rivers can bounce back, Indy may surprise some people in 2020.

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

Four Chiefs make first release of PFF’s Top 101 of the 2010s

86. RB Jamaal Charles

One of the fastest running backs to play the game, Jamaal Charles had track speed that would break angles and statistics because of how difficult he was to hit, let alone tackle. Though the decade caught only the last few seasons of his career, the sample size for running backs is lower than it is for most positions. And even in those seasons, Charles averaged 5.3 yards per carry, 2.5 of which came after contact. He forced 157 missed tackles on 1,151 carries and generated a first down or touchdown on 26% of his carries.

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