How Does Patrick Mahomes Compare to Tom Brady at 30?

Happy birthday, Patrick Mahomes. The Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback celebrates the big 3-0 on Wednesday. Well, it may not be a huge celebration considering the defending AFC champs are off to an 0-2 start and face an uphill climb if they are to win a 10th consecutive AFC West title.

Still, Mahomes has accomplished more at age 30 than most NFL quarterbacks have in a lifetime. If he called it quits today, Mahomes would still rank among the greatest quarterbacks of all time. His three Super Bowl MVPs are fewer than Tom Brady’s five, and his two NFL MVPs are fewer than Brady’s three. But Mahomes’ regular-season and Super Bowl MVPs are more than what the G.O.A.T. had when he turned 30.

In fact, when you look at Brady’s résumé on the day he turned 30 (August 3, 2007), most of his statistics pale in comparison to Mahomes. Then again, Brady had a career-high 50 touchdown passes in 2007, a season that began a month after he turned 30. Brady threw a total of 309 TDs in his thirties. And he is also the only quarterback ever with more touchdown passes in his forties (193) than in his twenties (147).

Mahomes likely would have to play into his forties to have a shot at Brady’s all-time NFL records for passing yards (89,214) and touchdowns (649). Based on his average numbers for the seven years in which Mahomes has started, he would need to play another 11-plus seasons to reach Brady’s touchdown record and 12-plus seasons to approach the yardage record.

Here’s a comparison of Mahomes’ career stats and accomplishments and where Brady’s career stood when he turned 30: