Patrick Mahomes is redefining greatness with the rise of the 'dad bod' athlete

Forget six-packs. Because 2025 is all about the touchdown tummy.

Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes is part of a growing club of sports legends rocking his “dad bod” with pride. From teammate Travis Kelce to Jason Kelce, Nikola Jokić and Josh Allen, they’ve all playfully embraced the move towards more relatable body types.

Over the weekend, Marca reported that photos of 29-year-old Mahomes at a family golf outing had “stirred up conversation across social media.”

The images quickly made the rounds online, with MLFootball noting in a post to X that Mahomes had “gone viral” for rocking his offseason "dad bod."

Fans were quick to chime in, with one writing, “Dad bod? I feel like that’s your average American male around Mahomes’ age,” while another simply said, “He looks great.”

It's not a new debate for Mahomes. Last year, he addressed the issue following the Chiefs AFC Championship win — after a still photo from an 'Inside the NFL" video showing the quarterback shirtless, went viral.

"Yoooo why they have to do me like that!?!?!?," Mahomes wrote in a post on X, including three laughing emojis along with the hashtag, #DadBodSzn — and later adding, “Like I got kids!!!”

But according to Mahomes, the extra padding isn’t just for show, it’s functional.

During his rushing touchdown in October 2024, against the San Francisco 49ers, Mahomes powered through 49ers defender Malik Mustapha to score. And after the game, he humorously credited his dad bod for the successful run.

"I was trying to absorb the hit,” Mahomes said in an interview. “I knew I was going to be right there in the end zone, and that dad bod, man, I just had enough weight on me where he went down," Mahomes said. "It wasn’t like I was initially trying to seek out contact. I was trying to absorb it and get in the end zone."

It’s a popular trend off the field as well.

A 2021 study from Dating.com revealed the majority of singles surveyed said they like a figure that isn’t “super-chiseled,” with nearly 75% who admit they’re a huge fan of the “dad bod.”