“Lamar Jackson is the MVP!” – Kyle Brandt calls Ravens best team in AFC right now, not Chiefs

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In a bold statement that has fans buzzing, sports analyst Kyle Brandt has declared that Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are currently the best team in the AFC, surpassing even the Kansas City Chiefs. This assertion comes on the heels of impressive performances from the Ravens, showcasing Jackson’s exceptional talent and leadership.

Brandt emphasized Jackson’s impact on the field, stating, “Lamar Jackson is the MVP!” His ability to change the game with his dual-threat capabilities has made the Ravens a formidable force this season. The analyst highlighted their recent wins and overall team dynamics as evidence of their superiority in the conference.

While the Chiefs have long been a dominant presence in the AFC, Brandt’s comments suggest a shift in the landscape of the league. The Ravens’ potent offense and strong defense have many believing they could make a serious run for the Super Bowl.

Fans are eagerly discussing this hot take, with many weighing in on the ongoing rivalry between these two powerhouse teams. As the season progresses, all eyes will be on both the Ravens and Chiefs to see who truly claims the top spot in the AFC. Stay tuned for more updates and insights!

atrick Mahomes stepped off a 2000 Dassault Aviation Falcon 900EX jet, a red Texas Tech baseball jersey layered over his black Adidas T-shirt, while a pair of black chains and a metal cross dangled from his neck.

The cool, climate-controlled air from the private plane could be felt eight steps from the aircraft before being beaten away by the West Texas heat that technically clocked in at 100 degrees, but unscientifically measured as “the surface of the sun.”

Mahomes, a Tyler, Texas, native, is used to this sweltering heat. That comes from growing up in a town where oil and gas companies outnumber skyscrapers and temperatures routinely reach triple digits.

But after seven years living in the Midwest, the 100-degree temperatures creating literal heat waves along the tarmac on a semi-private airstrip away from the main terminal at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport had Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, acknowledging its presence.

“Holy moly,” Brittany exclaimed as the plane’s engine whirred, almost drowning out her words. Patrick laughed in concurrence.

Few people with Texas Tech ties merit cheerleaders braving these oven-like conditions to ruffle their pom-poms on either side of a red carpet.

Mahomes is one of them.

The college image of Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, is immortalized throughout Lubbock, thanks to undergrads parading through campus in replicas of his Red Raiders jersey. Even the terminal a few hundred yards away includes a wall next to baggage claim B decorated with a floor-to-ceiling photo of Mahomes in a white Texas Tech uniform.

“Think about this,” Red Raiders head football coach Joey McGuire said. “Last year, we’re playing in Lawrence, Kansas, on his bye week. Every other pro is in Cancun or something. That dude’s in Lawrence, Kansas, on the sideline with us. Who else is doing that?”

That Mahomes was back in his college town on this sweltering August day was about more than just a nice homecoming. Announced shortly before his arrival, the three-time Super Bowl MVP contributed $5 million toward the $242 million South End Zone and Dustin R. Womble Football Center projects. It’s believed to be one of the largest gifts ever by a former athlete at any school.

That wasn’t the only reason for a visit.

Adidas, which signed Mahomes before his rookie year in 2017, inked a 10-year deal with Texas Tech after the latter’s previous agreement with Under Armour expired. The new contract includes varying incentives and, per the Dallas Morning News, represented a “107% increase in the team’s average cash annual value than its previous deal with Under Armour,” reportedly worth around $12.9 million.

As pertinent as the price tag, the deal with Adidas incorporates Mahomes’ personalized gladiator logo onto Texas Tech’s football apparel — including an alternate jersey complete with dark gray tackle swill, printed metallic films and power red accents that will be worn against Colorado on Nov. 9.

Mahomes was in Lubbock to unveil the jersey to the team himself.

“That’s the great thing about Texas Tech,” he told Sports Business Journal. “They have pride in the people that believe in them.”

It’s not exactly novel that a star athlete has his or her own brand, let alone that an apparel brand would incorporate it into marketing efforts. But where Mahomes’ partnership with Adidas and Texas Tech differs is its convergence of a college, brand and superstar smack dab in the middle of the athlete’s heightened stardom.

Michael Jordan’s “Jumpman” logo has become synonymous with Nike’s college basketball clients. It’s also been featured on football jerseys at North Carolina (Jordan’s alma mater), Michigan and Florida. But those moves were made years after Jordan last scored an NBA bucket.

Mahomes is in the prime of his career, one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet and, as of this fall, a fixture on the front left breastplate of Texas Tech’s football jerseys.

“We talked to Under Armour extensively about the future and what a future partnership could look like,” Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt said. “But they didn’t have the Patrick Mahomes effect.”

Texas Tech receiver Micah Hudson will be part of the “Team Mahomes” NIL class.Courtesy of Texas Tech

Hocutt cracked an ear-to-ear grin as the fluorescent lights illuminating his office glimmered off his eyeglasses.

Do you remember the first time you met Patrick Mahomes?

“Yeah,” he said gleefully. “I can show you a picture.”

As Hocutt tells it, he traveled with the team to one of their early-season games during Mahomes’ freshman year in 2014. Walking through the team hotel the evening before the contest, Hocutt’s wife, Diane, pointed out the young gunslinger from Tyler.

“Who is that?” she asked.

“Patrick Mahomes,” Hocutt informed.

“He needs to be our starting quarterback,” Diane surmised.

Hocutt, who’s remained close with Mahomes since his days in Lubbock, has been at the forefront of driving Texas Tech into the murky future of the college sports ecosystem.

Texas Tech’s NIL collective, the Matador Club, has been among the more aggressive groups in the space — including securing one-year, $25,000 deals for 100 members of the Red Raiders football program and helping land superstar softball transfer NiJaree
Canady from Stanford, thanks to a contract reportedly worth around $1 million.

Hocutt also recently hired Chase Jolesch, whose background includes time with the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Francisco 49ers, as Texas Tech’s first chief revenue officer in an effort to grow incremental revenue. That’s on top of nearly $500 million in facility upgrades he’s overseen over the past decade.

On a more national level, Hocutt has been intimately involved with College Sports Tomorrow, a group of industry thought leaders that has proposed a revamped structure for college football complete with collective bargaining, revenue sharing and two divisions that include a variation of Premier League-style promotion and relegation.

“I believe Kirby’s one of, if not the best ADs in the country,” Mahomes said. “The coolest thing about Kirby is he checks in with me all the time. He always has, even that year I wasn’t playing [as a rookie]. He always has a great vision. … He’s seen this entire university blow up [in scale], he saw the partnership with Adidas and he saw the partnership with me and the Mahomes brand.”

Hocutt took a wide approach to the apparel discussions. Significant conversations, he said, were had with Under Armour before deciding to work with Adidas and weaving Texas Tech’s most recognizable living alum further into the fabric of the school.

Under Armour has scaled back its presence in college sports for myriad reasons in recent years. The company has just six Power Four clients — Maryland (company founder Kevin Plank’s alma mater), Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Utah and South Carolina. Texas Tech was the most recent prominent departure, while Auburn switched to Nike in April.

Adidas, for its efforts, has made calculated gains in the college space. It counts 13 Power Four clients, Texas Tech the most recent addition among them. The company also re-upped existing partnerships with Georgia Tech and Indiana over the past six months and outfits Miami, Texas A&M, Kansas and N.C. State.

Those at German-brand Adidas’ U.S. headquarters in Portland, Ore., too, had long had fixations on Texas Tech — and Mahomes was a key cog in that calculation.

“When we signed Patrick after his rookie year, Texas Tech became a part of the equation in terms of just his love and his affinity for the university,” said Chris McGuire (no relation to Joey), VP of sports marketing for Adidas North America. “The contract was not available, but obviously we knew from a timing perspective when we could engage with Texas Tech. Patrick kept us on the mark.”

That Mahomes, Adidas and Texas Tech became a match made in marketing heaven saw its earliest roots, at, of all things, a basketball game.

Cheering on the Red Raiders men’s basketball team at the 2019 Final Four in Minneapolis, Mahomes wanted to wear his alma mater’s logo. The problem? Everything he owned from his playing days featured Under Armour — Texas Tech’s apparel sponsor from 2006 through 2024.

So, before walking into the stands, Mahomes stuck a strip of athletic tape over the Under Armour insignia on his white Texas Tech shirt and penned in black marker “Adidas.”

“I was trying to wear Tech stuff all the time, and I had to find tape and stuff and do different things,” Mahomes conceded. “I always wanted Adidas and Tech to come together, and Adidas kind of floated me the idea. … At the time, I had no thought of even having the Mahomes brand be part of it, and then through Adidas, Texas Tech and Kirby, they said, ‘Well, why don’t we make this a Mahomes brand [thing]?’ … It was a no-brainer for me.”