The Miami Dolphins’ fifth-year quarterback will no longer need to worry about his future with the club after he signed a four-year extension on Sunday. The deal will pay Tagovailoa an average of $53.1 million per year beginning next season. He also received a $42 million signing bonus.

“Now that all of this is done and this is behind us, we know that heavy is the crown,” Tagovailoa said. “Whoever is wearing that, right now, I’m the highest-paid employee in this office. I’ve to get my —whatever — together. I’ve got to get that right and moving the guys in the direction that we need to go.”

The deal ended months of negotiations and questions about whether the Dolphins would make a long-term investment in Tagovailoa.

After being the fifth overall selection in the 2020 draft, Tagovailoa has experienced peaks and valleys. As a result, Dolphins management took longer to entrust Tagovailoa with an extension than Cincinnati did with Joe Burrow or the Los Angeles Chargers with Justin Herbert. Those two QBs were picked along with Tagovailoa in the first round of the 2020 draft.

“There are just so many semantics and hoops that you have to go through to get something like that done, especially maneuvering other contracts around,” Tagovailoa said. “I’m happy that we got this thing done. It’s unbelievable.”

Dolphins fans were allowed to attend workouts for the first time in the 2024 training camp schedule on Sunday, and Tagovailoa greeted them with the catchphrase “Show me the money” from the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire.”

“Somebody told me that I wouldn’t say it,” Tagovailoa said.

Tagovailoa overcame a difficult 2022 season, when a concussion sidelined him for four regular-season games and a playoff loss against Buffalo. He played in all 17 games last season and threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards.

“My perspective — happy but also expected it to get done,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “And now that it’s done it’s about moving forward because maybe it’s a handshake and a smile but not a celebration. It’s a cool point for the organization to move forward and moving forward we are.”

McDaniel has been arguably Tagovailoa’s biggest supporter since he took over in 2022. With McDaniel devising schemes to suit Tagovailoa’s skills, the Dolphins averaged a league-best 401 yards per game last season.

“Word gets around quick and I don’t think he knows that I know. I’ve been told from several birdies that are here in the facility that are upstairs as well that he went to bat for me,” Tagovailoa said of McDaniel’s role in the negotiations.

The Tagovailoa-McDaniel link will face added scrutiny, especially with the Dolphins’ lengthy drought of postseason success. Miami’s wild-card round loss at Kansas City last season extended to 24 years its gap between playoff wins.

“We haven’t won the games we wanted to win, deep into the playoffs and win the games that matter,” Tagovailoa said. “I could have had the worst passing rating and threw for a thousand yards but if we were in those games and winning those games, and we got to go and win the championship, I would trade all of that.”

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The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.

The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.

The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.

Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.

“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.

“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”

The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

“Justice was done. The verdict upholds protection for the consumers in our class. It was a great day for consumers,” plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said.

During his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April, 2017, NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.

The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.

Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.

Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.

The league maintained it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.

Other professional sports leagues were also keeping an eye on this case since they also offer out-of-market packages. A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.

DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 through 2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year the case could proceed as a class action.

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He bought an NFL franchise in 2012 that was the laughingstock of the league, one that had tarps covering seats and was preparing to potentially play several home games annually in nearby Orlando. Khan told anyone who would listen that he wanted the team to find success in Jacksonville.

No one believed him.

Relocation rumors switched to Los Angeles and then London and eventually St. Louis.

So years later, with the city approving a $1.4 billion “stadium of the future” renovation for the Jaguars, Khan had a chance to take shots at all the naysayers. He took the high road — for the most part anyway.

“I don’t get any joy out of proving people wrong,” Khan said Wednesday. “They can reflect and move on. But actions always speak louder than words. And from Day 1, it’s been like judge us by our actions.

“Definitely for the ‘Debbie Downers,’ (Tuesday) night was not a good night.”

The proposal passed by a 14-1 vote. It calls for a 55-45% financial split, with each side contributing $625 million to the $1.25 billion build. Jacksonville, which won’t levy any new taxes to fund the rebuild, would chip in another $150 million in deferred maintenance to get EverBank Stadium ready for construction in 2026.

The Jaguars would play in front of a reduced capacity (no upper deck) in 2026 and then host home games in Gainesville or Orlando the following year.

The proposal includes a 30-year lease, a non-relocation agreement and a provision that limits the number of games the Jaguars can play outside Jacksonville.

Khan and team president Mark Lamping first started looking at stadium upgrades in 2016, with Khan prioritizing an organic and unique shape “that would be timeless,” he said.

The project became fast-tracked last year after new Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan took office. She spearheaded the city’s side of negotiations.

“Unlike Shad, I do enjoy proving people wrong,” said Deegan, who grew up in Jacksonville and was a news anchor when Jacksonville originally got the franchise in 1993. “I have been very petty in this process, saving every article, every negative tweet, every ‘no way you’re ever going to get this done.’ I’ve saved them all, and I’m relishing that today.”

The Jaguars agreed to take on all construction cost overruns, assume day-to-day operations of the stadium and bear 80.4% of game day expenses moving forward.

The proposed 63,000-seat, open-air stadium includes a translucent covering that’s similar to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. It’s expected to keep out rain and lower outside temperatures by 15 degrees.

Capacity could be expanded to 71,500 to accommodate the annual Florida-Georgia rivalry, the Gator Bowl, a College Football Playoff game or the Final Four. Pools and a party deck would remain in the north end zone.

It’s the latest addition to Khan’s NFL ownership legacy. He has now contributed roughly $1.3 billion to the city, including $301.2 million for an ongoing shipyards project, $119 million toward a community benefits agreement that was passed along with the stadium renovation, $108.7 million in previous stadium upgrades, $80 million for a practice facility and $30 million donated to various charities.

Yet, everyone assumed he wanted to move the small-market franchise.

“Everyone wants to doubt Jacksonville, and as of (Tuesday) night, that should no longer be the case,” Khan said. “People can move on with other stuff. Not a good day for the Doubting Thomases. We did something very significant, but we got to remember our journey to last night’s historic night was long.”

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But the veteran receiver entered this offseason and began talks with coach Mike McDaniel and the Dolphins about a possible union, and it didn’t take much convincing this time.

“Off the first meeting, I was just very excited about the opportunity,” Beckham said Wednesday, speaking for the first time since joining the Dolphins. “I remember getting off the phone with my agent and being like, ‘Yeah, this sounds good. Let’s figure out a way to do it.’”

The Dolphins signed Beckham to a one-year deal earlier this month. McDaniel is the one who sold him, laying out the details of how he’ll be used in Miami’s high-flying offense.

“It kind of reminds me of a place where I had a lot of success at as far as the Giants,” Beckham said, “and timing and all of those things that (McDaniel) talks about and preaches. He was speaking football. We sat down for hours and just talked football.”

Beckham, who quickly rose to NFL stardom after being drafted by the New York Giants in 2014, understands that he’s joining a loaded receiving group where he’ll be quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s third option behind speedy wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

He’s just fine with that.

“At this place in my life and my career, I haven’t been the No. 1 in a minute,” Beckham said. “You can go look at targets. You can go look at anything. That’s not really where I’ve been at.”

It’s a role that Beckham has learned to accept and appreciate during the twists and turns of his 10-year NFL career, one that began with one of the best rookie receiving seasons in NFL history but has waned in recent years because of major injuries.

“I feel like I used to carry a lot of anger or resentment,” Beckham said, “and now I just feel at peace. You’re able to train. You’re able to play the game that you love again.”

Beckham was a 1,000-yard receiver five times in his first six NFL seasons but has not reached that mark since 2019 with the Cleveland Browns. Since then, he’s had two ACL injuries, one of which sidelined him the entire 2022 season.

Beckham, a three-time Pro Bowl selection and 2014 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, said it’s hard for him to not internalize the effect injuries have had on his career. He added that he’s always out to prove something. Whatever that may be at this point in his career remains to be seen.

He’s coming off a 565-yard season with 35 catches with the Ravens, who had a dominant 2023 season but fell short of Super Bowl expectations when they lost to Kansas City in the AFC championship game.

“I’ve given my entire life to this game,” Beckham said, “and the way that it kind of went in the middle of the career, and even a little bit of last year, I can’t go out like that. There’s no way that I won’t finish on a high note.”

Beckham provides the Dolphins the solid third receiving option that they didn’t have last season. He said he sees himself contributing a lot on third downs when Hill and Waddle are facing double teams.

Hill and Waddle combined for more yards (2,813) than any other wide receiver duo in the NFL in 2023, but no other Dolphins receiver had more than 27 catches or 238 yards. Tight end Durham Smythe was Miami’s third-leading receiver last season with 366 yards on 35 catches.

Being able to end his career on his terms is one of Beckham’s goals for this next chapter.

He’s not sure if this will be his last NFL season — he’s more focused on winning another Super Bowl and staying healthy. But now more than ever, he said he’s at peace with however the rest of his story unfolds.

“Forget the middle part,” Beckham said. “When we read a book, the start’s going to capture us. We read the body of the story, and then, how is it going to end? That’s kind of where I’m at. Let’s have a great ending to the story.”

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However, the biggest competition and most attention when it comes to formulating the schedule each year is the late afternoon window for Fox and CBS.

The 4:25 p.m. Sunday spot is the most-viewed game of the week. Last season for the first time in many years, CBS edged Fox in the showcase window.

CBS averaged 24.64 million viewers in their 10 doubleheader weeks while Fox averaged 24.62 million.

With the importance of that spot, it isn’t a surprise the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys will be showcased often.

Fox received the most-desired game on the schedule with the Chiefs visiting the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 20. It will mark the first time since Fox started carrying the NFL in 1994 that it has a Super Bowl rematch.

It is also the only regular-season Chiefs game Fox will carry.

“We think a lot about having one good Kansas City game, and we got the best one of them all,” said Mike Mulvihill, Fox president for insights and analytics.

With the league shying away from putting rematches on the same network that aired the Super Bowl, CBS made Chiefs-Bills its top request.

The Nov. 17 game in Buffalo, a rematch of last season’s AFC divisional round game, marks the fifth straight year Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen will meet in the regular season.

“We felt like as the home of the AFC, we should continue to tell that story,” CBS Sports CEO and President David Berson said.

CBS will also feature Kansas City’s Sept. 15 game against Cincinnati and Sept. 29 at the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dallas gets the top treatment on Fox three times the first six weeks. The Cowboys’ Sept. 8 opener at Cleveland marks the first time since 2019 Fox has had them in Week 1. It also has them hosting Baltimore on Sept. 22 and Detroit on Oct. 13.

Fox also returns to having the exclusive Week 1 doubleheader as the Cowboys-Browns game will be Tom Brady’s debut as an analyst.

“I just feel like with what we’ve got for our showcase window in the first half of the season, that’s about as close to a best-case scenario as it could be for us,” Mulvihill said. “We made it a point with the league that we wanted to establish a stronger narrative in September.”

Besides the Chiefs, Berson also has some strong NFC matchups for the late window, including Dallas at Philadelphia on Nov. 10 — one of three Eagles appearances in CBS’s doubleheader window — and Green Bay at the Los Angeles Rams on Oct. 6.

Both networks will have doubleheaders on Dec. 15 — instead of Week 1 — and the last week of the regular season on Jan. 5.

“Is it better to do it later in the season when you have a better sense of where all the teams are and how to get the right teams into those windows?” said Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media. “We continue to tweak and evolve. If teams play their way on, we have a chance to look at that we wouldn’t have in Week 1.”

EARLY COUSINS
After Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury on the first drive of the season, the league might have learned its lesson when it came to scheduling appearances for the top quarterback in free agency.

Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons will make four prime-time appearances — three in the first five weeks. The Falcons are at Philadelphia on Monday night on Sept. 16, host Kansas City on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” six days later and face Tampa Bay on “Thursday Night Football” on Oct. 2.

Last year the Jets had six prime-time games, including the Monday night opener when Rodgers was hurt on the fourth snap of his debut with New York.

PRIME DIVISION?
Amazon Prime Video’s third season has division matchups for 12 of its 16 games, up from five last season.

Six teams will appear twice on “Thursday Night Football” after the league adjusted its policy last year. When Thursday night games became a season-long package in 2012, the league mandated all teams would play at least once.

The schedule begins with Bills at Dolphins on Sept. 12, Patriots at Jets on Sept. 19 and Cowboys at Giants on Sept. 26.

This year’s Black Friday game is Las Vegas at Kansas City on Nov. 29.

“In general, there’s a lot of upside with divisional matchups,” said Jeff Kaiser, Amazon Prime Video’s head of sports programming. “It’s nice to see the balance and the way it’s spread across the season. There should be intrigue with teams within divisions fighting for playoff spots.”

MONDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS
San Francisco bookends the “Monday Night Football” package. The 49ers host the Jets in the season opener on Sept. 9 and then host Detroit on Dec. 30 in a rematch of the NFC championship game.

Six teams will make multiple Monday night appearances. Of the 25 games on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+, 11 are interconference matchups but Rosalyn Durant, ESPN’s executive vice president for programming and acquisitions, likes the strength and depth of the schedule.

“We have the Chiefs twice, we have the Cowboys twice in Dallas. We have strong matchups throughout the schedule,” she said. “There are plenty of storylines that should have broad appeal.”

ESPN also has the Harbaugh Bowl three days before Thanksgiving on Nov. 25, when John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens take on Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers in Los Angeles. Many thought that might be a Thanksgiving night or Christmas game.

Due to last year’s writers strike, ABC carried most of the Monday night schedule, but it returns to four simulcasts and three exclusive games. ABC also has both Week 18 Saturday matchups.

SUNDAY NIGHT SURPRISE
Last year, the odds of a Chicago-Houston matchup being on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” would have been staggering. But with the Bears taking Caleb Williams with the top pick in this year’s draft and C.J. Stroud leading the Texans to the divisional round of the playoffs last year, it will get the prime time treatment on Sept. 15.

“That’s a matchup any football fan wants to take in and look at maybe the future of the league,” NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said.

NBC’s first six games feature strong quarterback matchups, especially the three in Week 1 with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson visiting Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes in the Sept. 5 Kickoff Game; Green Bay’s Jordan Love taking on Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts in Brazil the next night on Peacock; and the Rams’ Matthew Stafford facing Detroit’s Jared Goff on Sept. 8.

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The Patriots and new coach Jerod Mayo agreed Sunday to trade Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick in next month’s NFL draft, according to a person with knowledge of the decision.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade cannot become official until the new league year begins Wednesday and after Jones passes a physical.

The move brings Jones home — he was born and raised in Jacksonville — and provides competition behind starter Trevor Lawrence.

Jones will vie with 30-year-old C.J. Beathard for the team’s backup spot. Jones will count $4.96 million against the team’s salary cap in the final year of his rookie contract. Beathard is scheduled to count $2.4 million in the final year of his deal.

The Jaguars are unlikely to keep both on their 53-man roster to start the season.

Jones, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 draft, flamed out spectacularly last season and was eventually replaced by Bailey Zappe. Jones went 2-9 in 11 starts in 2023, throwing for 2,120 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

He has 46 TD passes and 36 INTs in three NFL seasons. He made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2021, but he regressed in his second year with former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia calling plays.

The Patriots are expected to select a quarterback with the third overall pick in the draft. LSU’s Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy could be options there.

The Jaguars were looking for a younger option behind Lawrence. Beathard won his lone start last season, but he also injured his non-throwing shoulder in an earlier appearance and was so banged up late in the season that Jacksonville nearly had to start journeyman Matt Barkley off the street.

Adding Jones is one of a few changes Jacksonville is making to its offense in 2024. The team re-signed left guard Ezra Cleveland, renegotiated a reduced cap number for right guard Brandon Scherff and plan to bring in a veteran center to compete with third-year pro Luke Fortner. Receiver could be a top target in the draft if the Jags lose Calvin Ridley in free agency.

General manager Trent Baalke and coach Doug Pederson have been adamant that Lawrence is their guy, and they hope to sign him to a long-term deal — maybe even before next season.

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The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the agreement, which includes $50 million guaranteed, had not been finalized.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Mayfield will receive $30 million in 2024 and $30 million in 2025, with $20 million guaranteed in the second year of the deal. The quarterback’s salary would increase to $40 million in 2026, the newspaper said.

Mayfield, who has played with four teams over the past three seasons, resurrected his career in 2023 after joining the Bucs on a one-year contract following the retirement of Tom Brady and leading the the team to its third consecutive NFC South title.

The No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft threw for a career-best 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns while cutting down on costly mistakes that undermined previous stints with the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.

Mayfield and Dak Prescott were the only NFL quarterbacks to throw for at least 28 TDs while tossing 10 or fewer interceptions last season.

The 28-year-old Mayfield also threw for over 300 yards and three TDs in each of Tampa Bay’s two postseason games — an NFC wild-card win over Philadelphia and a loss to Detroit in the divisional round.

Mayfield agreed to terms two days after Tampa Bay finalized a two-year, $52 million contract with star receiver Mike Evans, who also passed up an opportunity to test his worth in free agency. Evans is coming off his 10th straight 1,000-yard season and tied Tyreek Hill for the league lead in TD receptions with 13.

Another key to ensuring Mayfield’s return was a decision last month to hire Liam Coen as offensive coordinator after Dave Canales left the Bucs to become coach of the Panthers.

Coen worked with Mayfield while the quarterback was with the Rams in 2022.

By signing Mayfield and Evans before the start of free agency, Bucs general manager Jason Licht can now turn his attention to trying to reach a long-term contract with All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield, who’s guaranteed a one-year, $17.12 million for next season under the franchise tag.

Re-signing linebacker Lavonte David and kicker Chase McLaughlin are priorities, too. The Bucs are also interested in extending the contract of left tackle Tristan Wirfs, who’s due to earn a fifth-year option salary of $18.2 million next season.

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According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, Kansas City’s 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco on Sunday night averaged 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms. That shattered last year’s mark of 115.1 million for Kansas City’s last-play victory over Philadelphia and is a 7% increase.

The game was televised by CBS, Nickelodeon and Univision and streamed on Paramount+ as well as the NFL’s digital platforms.

Nielsen also said a record 202.4 million watched at least part of the game across all networks, a 10% jump over last year’s figure of 183.6 million.

The CBS broadcast averaged 120 million. The network’s previous mark for its most-watched Super Bowl was 112.34 million for the 2016 game between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

Some of the increase can be attributed to a change in the way viewers are counted. Nielsen began including out-of-home viewers in its ratings in 2020, but only from 65% of the country. That measurement is expected to expand to include all 50 states later this year.

Sunday’s game was only the second of the 58 Super Bowls to go to overtime. The previous one was in 2017, when New England rallied from a 28-3 deficit and beat Atlanta 34-28.

“I was managing my expectations, but I had a bit of hope that it would happen,” CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said of overtime, which was set up when San Francisco kicker Jake Moody had an extra point blocked in the fourth quarter, which kept it a three-point game. “I can’t imagine a Super Bowl any better or more exciting than this.”

Kansas City sent it to overtime on Harrison Butker’s field goal. After the 49ers kicked a field goal on the opening possession of OT, the Chiefs won when Patrick Mahomes threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman.

This Super Bowl had the added attraction of Taylor Swift in attendance. The pop superstar is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, a romance that has brought new fans to the NFL.

It was the second straight year the Super Bowl averaged more than 100 million viewers after a period where four of the five games before 2023 had fallen short of that number because of cord-cutting. That included 95.2 million for the 2021 Super Bowl between Tampa Bay and Kansas City, which was the game’s lowest TV-only average since 2007.

Univision averaged more than 2.2 million viewers, the highest Super Bowl viewership on record for a Spanish-language network. The Super Bowl has been televised in Spanish in the United States since 2014.

The NFL playoffs averaged 38.5 million viewers the first three weekends, a 9% increase over last year.

That followed a regular season that averaged 17.9 million, tied for the second highest since averages were first tracked in 1995.

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The Kansas City tight end finished with nine receptions for 93 yards, including a crucial catch in overtime, to help the Chiefs win their second straight Super Bowl with a 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.

One play after Kelce’s reception put the Chiefs on the 3-yard line, Patrick Mahomes found Mecole Hardman alone in the end zone for the winning TD, in the process helping Kelce keep his promise while sending Swift and everyone in her suite into a celebratory frenzy.

“Never a doubt in my mind,” Kelce said. “We’ve got the best quarterback in the league, we’ve got the best offensive line in the league, and we’ve got the most determination out of any team in the NFL and you saw all that tonight.

“I guess at this point I take it for granted, but I know we’re in every single game I’ve ever played in, no matter what the score is or no matter how much time is left, that guy’s got magic in his right arm.”

One night after Swift earned her fourth career Grammy for album of the year last week, Kelce said he told her he’d “have to hold up my end of the bargain and bring home some hardware, too.”

Swift flew halfway around the world to watch her boyfriend, who also said during the Super Bowl week’s opening night on Monday, “I want this one more than I’ve ever wanted a Super Bowl before in my life.”

After the game, Kelce said it’s on to the next feat.

“I’m going to go ahead and enjoy this and everything that just happened,” he said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I’ve been able to go through three times now. It gets sweeter and sweeter every time.

“You know the goal has always been to get three. But we couldn’t get here without getting that two, and having that target on our back all year.”

Kelce’s vibe at the end of the game was an emphatic change after he bumped Andy Reid on the sideline during the second quarter, knocking the 65-year-old Kansas City coach a few steps back after teammate Isiah Pacheco fumbled inside the red zone.

Kelce ran over to Reid and screamed at him after the fumble.

“You guys saw that?” Kelce said. “I’m going to keep it between us unless my mic’d up tells the world. I was just telling him how much I loved him.”

Reid said Kelce just wanted to be on the field. “There’s nobody I get better than I get him,” Reid said. “He’s a competitive kid. He loves to play. He makes me feel young. But my balance is terrible.”

This was the second sideline incident involving Kelce and Reid this season. During a game against the Raiders on Christmas Day, an angry Kelce spiked his helmet on the sideline, and when a staff member tried to hand it back to the tight end so that he could take the field, Reid grabbed the helmet and refused to give it back.

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They should have known — who doesn’t at this point? — that it was one too many.

After leading the Chiefs downfield late in regulation, only to settle for a tying field goal with 3 seconds left to force overtime, Mahomes capitalized on his second chance. The Chiefs’ sturdy defense held the 49ers to a field goal of their own, and with the ball back in his hands, Mahomes marched the defending champions right downfield on a touchdown drive to remember.

He scrambled for a pair of first downs, including one on fourth-and-1 with the game on the line, and was 8 for 8 passing on the drive. The last was a 3-yard toss to Mecole Hardman to finish off their heart-stopping 25-22 victory.

“This is awesome,” Mahomes said simply. “Legendary.”

Fitting way to put it for a 28-year-old quarterback quickly reaching legendary status.

Mahomes is only the sixth quarterback to win three Super Bowls — and was selected MVP for all three — and the youngest to do it. Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw are well within reach with four apiece. And given how quickly Mahomes has been stacking up those shiny Lombardi Trophies in Kansas City, it’s hard to believe Brady’s record of seven is untouchable.

Mahomes is also closing on Brady’s record for Super Bowl MVPs. Brady won five, while Montana is the only other player with three.

“I think Tom said it best: Once you win that championship, you have those parades and you get those dreams, you’re not the champion anymore. You have to come back to that with the same mentality,” Mahomes said. “And I learned from guys like that that have been the greatest of all time.”

The Chiefs became the first repeat Super Bowl champions since Brady and the Patriots in 2003 and ’04, and their third title in four trips over the past five years puts them in rarified air. Only four teams have won three championships in a five-year span.

Asked whether the Chiefs have achieved dynasty status, Mahomes replied: “It’s the start of one.”

In truth, Mahomes struggled for much of the game Sunday, especially because the 49ers refused to bring the blitz, which the two-time league MVP tears apart with ease. But he started to heat up in the fourth quarter, when he drove Kansas City for a field goal to tie it at 16 with 5:46 left, then when he drove for another field goal that sent the game to overtime.

Impressive stuff from a quarterback who had surprisingly struggled in the clutch this season. Mahomes was just 18 of 47 for 167 yards with no touchdowns and an interception with a chance to tie or take the lead in the fourth quarter or overtime.

“I don’t think Pat knows how to lose,” Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice said.

Mahomes celebrated winning by sprinting like mad into the end zone. He wheeled around with his helmet held aloft and headed all the way back to Kansas City’s sideline. There, with nobody around him for the briefest of moments, Mahomes fell onto the yellow-painted turf and stared into the sky in what seemed to be an exhausting mixture of elation and disbelief.

As if anyone should have any reason not to believe in Mahomes by now.

“We’ve got the best quarterback in the league,” Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said.

Mahomes finished the Super Bowl with 333 yards passing and two TDs, and he extended his franchise record for yards rushing in the playoffs with 66 more. The head-scratching interception he threw into heavy coverage early in the game was forgotten by the time he hit Hardman in the end zone, sending red and yellow confetti raining down inside Allegiant Stadium.

“I hope people remember not only the greatness we have on the field, but the way we’ve done it,” Mahomes said. “I feel like we enjoy it every single day. We have fun. We play hard. It’s not always pretty, but we fight to the very end.

“I know there’s some fatigue sometimes with one team winning,” he said, “but we just try to enjoy it. We try to enjoy it.”

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