Patrick Mahomes gets cardboard cutout treatment in stands at Royals game

Patrick Mahomes made an appearance at last night’s Royals game…sort of

Patrick Mahomes may be in training camp right now with the Kansas City Chiefs, but the star quarterback made an appearance in the stands of the Kansas City Royals game. Mahomes recently became a part-owner of the team, making him one of the youngest people ever to own a professional sports team at age 24. He is second only to Serena Williams’ daughter, Alexis Ohanian, who is a part owner of new NWSL team Angel City at just two years old.

Baseball has always been important to Mahomes, so even though he can’t attend games in person right now, his cardboard cutout is a close second. The reigning Super Bowl MVP was a big baseball player as a kid and he even spent some time on the baseball team at Texas Tech during his college years, so now he’s keeping the sport in his life with his investment.

This isn’t Mahomes’ first involvement with the MLB either. His father, Pat Mahomes Sr., played several seasons of professional baseball while Mahomes was growing up, as did his godfather. The former Detroit Tigers draft pick will be right at home among the ownership group of the Royals.

With no fans in the stands, the MLB has been looking for different ways to fill the seats within COVID-19 guidelines. Some teams are charging fans for the chance to see themselves in cutout form sitting behind home plate, while others are showcasing players’ members or frontline pandemic workers. In some stadiums, if a foul ball or home run hits your cutout, you can win a variety of prizes including the ball that hit “you”.

As much as we’d love to see Mahomes — and every other baseball fan — actually sitting in the stands, the cardboard cutout is a funny alternative given the current circumstances. Maybe some Royals will also make an appearance in Arrowhead Stadium when the Chiefs kick off this NFL season.