NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes signs historic deal with Oakley: 'We both strive to be the best'

March 20, 2019 at 10:00 PM

Patrick Mahomes II is the first NFL player to sign an endorsement deal with Oakley. (Photo: Courtesy of Oakley)

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II is spending his offseason training, playing video games — and modeling shades through a gig he just landed with an iconic sports brand.

The league MVP is making history as the first NFL player to sign an endorsement deal with Oakley. Mahomes will be the face of the sports performance brand’s Prizm optics line and the “See it in Prizm” campaign.

“With this partnership, I can show what Oakley can do on and off the football field, and I think that’s the biggest thing,” Mahomes tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “We both strive to be the best in our aspects.”

For Oakley, it’s about giving athletes the best gear to reach their full potential, including leading optic innovations for players who rely heavily on vision during every second of a game. For the 23-year-old, it’s utilizing the brand’s proprietary high-tech lens, which was developed over the last 20 years, to enhance color, contrast and detail.

“Oakley is a very performance-focused brand. We’ve always said if it’s not good enough for the world’s best athletes, it’s not good enough,” Oakley Senior Vice President of marketing Gwen van Lingen tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “[Patrick Mahomes II] is always striving to be better on the field — his DNA fits with our DNA, which is all about being focused on performance.”

Mahomes, seen training in the offseason, wears the <a href="https://fave.co/2TNhDrM" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Prizm Clear football shield;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Prizm Clear football shield</a> on his helmet. (Photo: Courtesy of Oakley) — Mahomes, seen training in the offseason, wears the Prizm Clear football shield on his helmet. (Photo: Courtesy of Oakley)

Mahomes paid a visit to the Oakley headquarters in southern California, where he learned how the brand’s technology could help his game on and off the field — and he was impressed with what he saw.

“I love the Prizm technology. It enhances the lights and colors you see when you wear the sunglasses, which can be supereffective for me,” he says. “You want to make sure you’re wearing the right type of glasses that will enhance the right colors when you’re going out to practice or working out or on the field playing.

“They’re not just satisfied with being an optics brand — they want to be the best in every aspect, from magnifying, enhancing colors or clearness.”

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The process never stops! Get better everyday! 💯
A post shared by Patrick Mahomes II (@patrickmahomes) on Feb 17, 2019 at 9:54am PST

As Mahomes focuses on his offseason training, he’ll be in Texas, with plenty of time for hanging out with his new puppy, Silver.

“It’s been a big offseason for me coming off what was a great season, but at the same time we fell short of our ultimate goal, which was the Super Bowl, so we have to find a way to get better,” he explains. “So for me, it’s all about nutrition, getting myself mentally and physically back. It’s the first time I’ve played that many football games in one year, so it was about physically getting my body back and making sure everything is healthy and good to go.”

Mahomes’s favorite pair of <a href="https://fave.co/2FdIu6a" rel="noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Oakley Sutro Prizm Jade Sunglasses;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Oakley Sutro Prizm Jade Sunglasses</a> ($163). (Photo: Courtesy of Oakley) — Mahomes’s favorite pair of Oakley Sutro Prizm Jade Sunglasses ($163). (Photo: Courtesy of Oakley)

The determined athlete says he’s working on perfecting his craft, “fixing” his footwork and cleaning up his eating habits in preparation for the upcoming season.

“The biggest thing that I’ve learned that keeps my body healthy is nutrition, and I kind of got big into that,” he says. “I’m usually a picky eater, but I learned that you have to utilize that to get the best out of your body.”

“My favorite foods are pretty much steak and potatoes — just the simple stuff,” he admits. “But knowing that, I have to get my nutrition from other places. I have to eat a lot more vegetables that I don’t like eating and other things like that. Like, instead of snacking on chips, I have to snack on fruit, which I do not like doing.”

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#ThreeStripeLife
A post shared by Patrick Mahomes II (@patrickmahomes) on Mar 14, 2019 at 7:14pm PDT

Off the field, Mahomes can be spotted in his favorite pair of jade-colored Oakley Sutro Prizm Sunglasses ($163), which he teased on social media this past week.

“The ones that I’ve been rocking lately are the Sutro Prizm — I posted them on my Instagram the other day, and people were wondering what sunglasses I was wearing,” he tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Sutro Prizm Black sunglasses

Shop it: $163, oakley.com

Unsurprisingly, Mahomes has a trove of Oakley sunglasses at home that will likely make it on the ’gram soon. “I think I have like 20 to 30 of them right now that I plan on wearing at some point or another. And I plan on changing it up, but the Sutro is definitely the one I go with more often.”

And he revealed he’ll be hooking up the team, of course, including Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, with a few of his favorite shades.

Frogskins Prizm Ruby Polarized sunglasses

Shop it: $163, oakley.com

“I am going to get coach a few pairs, just to having swagging out on the field,” jokes Mahomes. “I’ll probably ease him in with the Frogskins, but I plan on getting him into the Sutros pretty soon.”

He adds, “I’ll definitely get some for the guys on the team too. The locker room is very much a family atmosphere, so it will be big for me to get those guys on to the Oakley brand if they’re not already.”

Shop some of the bestselling Oakley Prizm lens styles below: