Patrick Mahomes is still in pain from the Super Bowl and isn't wasting any time on his vacation

Patrick Mahomes will enter the 2025 NFL season with an unfamiliar cloud of doubt hanging over him. A loss like the one his Kansas City Chiefs suffered in Super Bowl LIX is not easy to overcome -- the 40-22 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles is the second Super Bowl blowout Mahomes has been dealt in his already-stellar career, and it's not every day that a team reaches the season's showpiece game for three years in a row. To do it for a fourth year running will take everything Mahomes has.

The Chiefs' roster around Mahomes is changing too, the whispers growing that Kansas City's salary cap constraints will preclude the team from competing at the highest level for a few years. The Chiefs dealt All-Pro guard Joe Thuney to the Chicago Bears on Wednesday in a move that will help them maneuver in the market, but it adds to the pressure Mahomes and the franchise already face to remake its offensive line.

Mahomes, working harder than ever

Mahomes has gotten down to business this offseason and has been training to avoid another embarrassment such as the one he suffered in New Orleans last month. His trainer Bobby Stroupe has shared new photos on Instagram of the quarterback working with an exercise ball and taking part in resistance training exercises.

Training camp for Mahomes' ninth NFL season doesn't begin for another four months, but the two-time NFL MVP is demonstrating why he is "alone in his class" as an elite quarterback. Before his 30th birthday, Mahomes has appeared in five Super Bowls and won three of them. Many fans expect Mahomes to challenge NFL legend Tom Brady's record of seven Super Bowl titles, and his motivation will be high entering next season -- especially as longtime running mate Travis Kelce is likely playing his final year in the NFL.