He may be unstoppable on the gridiron, but when it comes to hosting Saturday Night Live, Patrick Mahomes is a bit more tentative.
In a new interview with Time Magazine, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback revealed that he’s been asked to host the show, but took a pass.
“I have a little bit of a fear with the teleprompter,” Mahomes told Time, citing an ESPYs appearance a few years back that shook his confidence.
As the magazine points out, SNL operates on cue cards, not a teleprompter — but either way, there’s a script to follow. Still, the three-time Super Bowl winner says hosting the show is on his bucket list.
As one of the biggest names in sports, one imagines that the gig is his for the taking when Mahomes is ready.
Saturday Night Live has included sports figures among its hosting ranks almost from the start. The first to do it was Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, during SNL’s second season in 1977. (He was followed by O.J. Simpson a year later.)
To date 35 athletes have hosted the show, the most recent being Mahomes’ Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce in March 2023.
Just this past weekend, women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark paid a visit to “Weekend Update” to drag Michael Che for his many jokes about women’s sports on the show. Asked yesterday whether she’d return to host the show if asked, she echoed Mahomes. “I don’t think I’m ready for all that,” she said. “That would be terrifying.”
