It’s one thing to be a champion on the field, but Kansas City Chief’s star quarterback  Patrick Mahomes is, arguably, an even greater champion off the field than on.

In the wake of what seems like a season of blatant disrespect and shockingly anti-American evangelizing from the NFL, the tide is beginning to turn back to one of respect, gratitude, and awareness that Americans are better than the level to which we as a nation have stooped in recent years. 

Patrick Mahomes is among those leading that charge back to our roots as patriotic, grateful Americans. 

Free time for an athlete at that level is not in abundance. Patrick could use his sparingly, reserving those hours for down-time or relaxing. Instead, he chooses to join forces with a local non-profit focused on providing tiny houses to our nation’s veterans in need of a hand up in life. 

Patrick has jumped in to help The Veterans Community Project build houses in the past. If you stopped by to help you may have found him swinging a hammer or spackling sheetrock. More recently though, he’s been a little more careful about risking any level of injury to the machine that is his body, given the Chief’s Superbowl trajectory. But rather than use his profession as a reason to step away from service, he switched to painting. 

“Just to be able to come out here and help out some veterans of our country is something that’s truly special,” he said.

The houses are just part of a process designed to help veterans find their new path in life. From utilities to food, they are supported through their challenges until they regain their own sense of purpose and move on. 

Patrick’s gratitude to our veterans is evident. “Without your service,” he wrote to an Army veteran, “ there would be no football, no NFL.” 

NFL players like Patrick Mahomes, who also actively supports local youth charities through his own foundation, and his teammate Derrick Nnadi, who paid adoption fees for all adoptable dogs at a local animal shelter, are welcome examples of the true spirit of grateful Americans across this country. 

Not only are they living their own versions of the American dream they worked so hard to create for themselves, but they are also using their success to impact lives in their communities. Whether those are veterans, or children, or four-legged lives, the ripple effects of their actions will last far beyond any championships they won on the field.