President Biden on Monday said he predicts Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes will be considered one of the best quarterbacks ever as he welcomed Mahomes’s team to the White House to celebrate its Super Bowl win.
“With 200 million people watching — yet another thrilling game — you beat the [Philadelphia] Eagles, becoming Super Bowl champs again. It’s no surprise, you’ve got a young quarterback named Patrick. The boy can play, man,” he said.
“We saw him play with that high ankle sprain, another legendary story of one of the greatest quarterbacks of his generation — and, I predict, of any generation,” Biden added.
Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce gave the president a Chiefs jersey with 46 on the back, referring to Biden’s election as the 46th president.
Kelce approached the podium to speak and Mahomes pulled him away, laughing as the team took a photograph with the president.
The Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII in February, beating the Philadelphia Eagles, who are first lady Jill Biden’s favorite team.
Biden joked in his remarks about his household being full of Eagles fans, but he still praised the Chiefs and head coach Andy Reid, who joined the Chiefs in 2013 after leading the Eagles from 1999 to 2012.
The president also praised Chiefs players for their charitable organizations and support for various causes.
“Most important, as much as these guys know about football, they know about life and how to use their platform to make a difference. Speaking out for racial justice, honoring veterans as you do, supporting tutors and mentors for local schools,” the president said.
“This is an organization that emphasizes community service and encourages players to create their own charitable organizations, which many have done,” he added.
Additionally, the president held a moment of silence for Norma Hunt, the wife of the Chiefs founder, who died over the weekend at 85 years old.
Reid spoke after the president, thanking him and praising the Hunt family. He also acknowledged that when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, they weren’t able to come to the White House to celebrate because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) was in the crowd for the White House event along with members of Congress from Kansas and Missouri, all of whom Biden had stand up at the beginning.