Patrick Mahomes eyeing WNBA franchise for Kansas City

Patrick Mahomes said he wants to see a WNBA expansion team come to Kansas City.

Unlike the average professional athlete, Mahomes may have the pull, and the money, to make it happen.

"We want to get basketball to Kansas City in general and then WNBA," Mahomes said Thursday. "The success that they've had this last season and these last few seasons, it's kind of a no-brainer."

Mahomes and his wife Brittany are investors in the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League. Mahomes also has purchased ownership stakes in Major League Baseball's Royals and Major League Soccer's Sporting Kansas City.

The three-time Super Bowl champion, who signed a $500 million contract extension with the Chiefs in 2020, said he wants to continue to be a professional sports team owner long after his playing days are done, saying with women's sports in particular he wants to "showcase to my daughter that she can follow her dream and go out there and execute on whatever that dream is."

Kansas City has an appetite for basketball, thanks to the tradition of the nearby University of Kansas. The city also built an NBA- and NHL-ready arena, the T-Mobile Center, which did not attract a permanent tenant in one of the major leagues.

As the WNBA expands from 12 to 15 teams over the next two seasons, adding clubs in San Francisco, Portland and Toronto, it hopes to reach the round number of 16. Nearby St. Louis and Philadelphia are also expected to compete with Kansas City for a franchise.

"To try to get a WNBA team in Kansas City to this fan base -- you see it if you talk about University of Kansas basketball, the Chiefs or whatever it is -- the city of Kansas City is going to come out and they're going to fill the stadium," Mahomes said.

"It was cool that we were able to get this soccer team, this women's soccer team here in the Current and they're going into the playoffs now and you see the support that they have. So let's try to get a WNBA team in here as well (with) that same ownership group. They've done the Current the right way, and I want to continue to work with them to take that next step and get a WNBA team here."

--Field Level Media/Reuters