“Would Be the Biggest Sports Scandal Ever”: Patrick Mahomes’ Ex-Teammate Goes Off on ‘Chiefs Are Getting Preferential Treatment’ Narrative

Patrick Mahomes was perhaps right in saying, “No matter what happens during the game, something [controversial] is going to come out about it if you win”. The Kansas City Chiefs star, focused fully on his job, has been able to ignore the controversy that opposing fanbases have stirred up, speculating that the refs have been inclined to help them win games, all the way to the Super Bowl. It is such a divisive topic that any comment on or around it sparks immediate fire and ire. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is the latest one facing the heat.

Scheftler’s post that the NFL was looking to expand its replay assist system to address erroneous calls is reassuring for football fans. But the Chiefs supporters, and even a former player, have questioned his take stating the timing reeks of internet opportunism.

For all those complaining that Patrick Mahomes gets too many calls, relief soon could be on the way.

NFL replay assist is expected to expand this offseason into plays that could include the quarterback slide, league sources told ESPN.https://t.co/4w3haqOW7i

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2025

Chiefs superfan Nick Wright was quick to brand Schefter’s report as ‘engagement bait’. And since it was done on one of the best days for football — the AFC Championship games — Wright deemed Schefter’s report as a “disservice to fans”.

“I get why the anonymous accounts are feeding this: They get paid off of engagement & that’s their hustle. But for Adam Schefter, who makes *9M a year*, feed into this on arguably the single best day of football of the year, just to satisfy the algorithm, is a disservice to fans,” Wright posted.

Backing Wright’s counter, Mahomes‘ former teammate Mitchell Schwartz explained how dangerous Schefter’s report could be for the Chiefs. He reminded everyone that such insinuations have larger connotations since “everything is connected to gambling these days”.

“The league’s voice with the largest reach is insinuating the league both influences games via refereeing AND favors one team specifically. It’s not a cute little joke. That would be the biggest sports scandal ever, especially with everything being tied to gambling these days,” wrote Schwartz.

The league’s voice with the largest reach is insinuating the league both influences games via refereeing AND favors one team specifically. It’s not a cute little joke. That would be the biggest sports scandal ever, especially with everything being tied to gambling these days. https://t.co/cPFY1d7Gjy

— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) January 26, 2025

The 2019 Super Bowl champion then shared a screenshot of Schefter’s initial post and called him out for farming engagement through outrage since he seems to have deliberately mentioned Mahomes’ name multiple times.

1) The refs said both calls were applied correctly after a day to review them. (I agreed with the first penalty, not the second) How exactly is it supposed to help that situation then?

2) Good job using his name in multiple tweets while you farm for outrage engagement. It’s not… pic.twitter.com/I4qEwvoLRk

— Mitchell Schwartz (@MitchSchwartz71) January 26, 2025

With the Chiefs hosting the Buffalo Bills for the AFC Championship game, officiating has been a major talking point. And as Mahomes mentioned, more talk will happen if the Chiefs keep performing the way they have been.