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Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs' golden-arm quarterback, is once again the NFL's favorite punching bag at the Scouting Combine-and fans are here for it. As the 2025 event kicks off in Indianapolis, the league's rolled out a slick new taunt, poking fun at Mahomes' infamous 4.80-second 40-yard dash from 2017.
It's become an annual ritual, and this year's jab is hitting all the right notes, blending humor with iration for the three-time Super Bowl champ.
Last year, Mahomes begged for mercy, tweeting at the NFL Network, "As the combine starts this week! All I ask is that NFL Network doesn't use my 40 overlay anymore." Did they listen? Nope-they doubled down, overlaying his lumbering run with massive defensive tackles like T'Vondre Sweat and Braden Fiske, leaving viewers in stitches.
Mahomes dropped an exasperated GIF in reply, but with three rings and an MVP trophy case, he could afford to laugh it off. Now, in 2025, the NFL's gone next-level, syncing his dash with lightning-fast QB prospects like Miami's Cam Ward, captioning it, "One more year, Pat-still chasing you!" The clip's blowing up online, and the timing-just before free agency-couldn't be more perfect.
NFL keeps clowning Mahomes' 40tTime
Mahomes, now 29 and fresh off another stellar season, took the hit like a champ, posting on X, "Y'all really gotta do me like this every year huh?" It's a fair gripe-his combine clunker doesn't tell the story of his 2,014 career rushing yards, including a slick 66 in Super Bowl LVIII. That 4.80? It's a dusty footnote next to his elusiveness on the field.
Still, the NFL knows a good gag when it sees one. "He's the best in the game, and we still can't resist," an NFL Network insider told Sports Illustrated. "It's all love-and it gets the fans going."
The 2025 Combine, running February 27 to March 2, is hyping new stars like Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Texas' Quinn Ewers, but Mahomes remains the ultimate benchmark-slow start or not. X is buzzing: "Funniest tradition in football," one fan wrote, while another countered, "He's outrun every hater since '17-give it a rest!" Love it or hate it, the NFL's taunt keeps Mahomes front and center. Will they ever drop it?