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Patrick Mahomes explains why he and fiancée revealed daughter's face on social media

The Kansas City Chiefs star also shared the two most important words he's learned since becoming a dad when it comes to getting ready for this NFL season.
/ Source: TODAY

Patrick Mahomes and Brittany Matthews have juggled practicality and privacy when deciding how much of their baby daughter to share with the world.

The Kansas City Chiefs star and his fiancée initially didn't show their 5-month-old daughter Sterling's face in any photos for 3½ months before deciding to share some cute shots of the family together on Instagram last month.

"Obviously at first we wanted to keep stuff private and not have her out there," Mahomes told TODAY. "As we started doing different things and she started getting a little bit older, being out and about, it almost became like a burden to try to hide her at all times when we do stuff, and this coming season we want her to be at the games and not have to worry about hiding her the entire time.

"We figured it was about time. We still want to keep some stuff private, but we figured we can show everybody her face at least once or twice or not have to keep hiding her."

How much of their children they want to share voluntarily, or involuntarily in the case of paparazzi, has become a hot-button issue for celebrities.

Mahomes knows what it's like to grow up in the public eye as the child of a professional athlete. His father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., pitched in the major leagues from 1992 to 2003 for six different teams.

"I think I have a little bit of an understanding because my dad played professional sports, but it’s going to be a little different in the social media age and everything like that," Mahomes said. "We just want to give her the most normal life that she possibly can so she can grow and have friends and learn and get better and better every single day.

"There will be points where she’ll be in the public eye, and we have a great understanding of that. Luckily we’re in Kansas City where there’s a lot of great people that she’ll be in a great place as she grows up."

Mahomes has also learned the specific importance of one thing as the Chiefs' training camp begins and he works to prepare for the upcoming season. It's a must while trying to get proper sleep, train and eat right while also taking care of a 5-month-old child.

Patrick Mahomes in 2021 Super Bowl
Patrick Mahomes is putting off his wedding until 2022 as he tries to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a third straight Super Bowl appearance. Simon Bruty / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

"We learned the two most important words in being parents is 'sleep schedule,'" he said. "We have the sleep schedule down. She’s actually a really good sleeper. She already sleeps through the night. She wakes up about at 6 a.m, just about when I wake up usually.

"It's been amazing. Brittany’s been a champ, she’s been the best mom ever, so I’m just excited every single day for the new challenges and seeing (Sterling) grow."

While Mahomes always seems to have the answers on the field, it's not quite that way all the time as a new father.

"There's moments when she's crying and Brittany’s at the store or in the shower or something like that, and I have no idea what to do after I try all the tricks," he said. "Luckily enough there hasn’t been too many of those moments."

Mahomes spoke to TODAY while promoting the Head & Shoulders #NeverNotWorking campaign, which features a new commercial with Mahomes and retired Pittsburgh Steelers great Troy Polamalu.

He is hoping to lead the Chiefs to a third straight Super Bowl appearance this season, which would make them just the fourth team in NFL history to achieve that feat.

"It's going to be a challenge," he said. "(Making three straight Super Bowls) doesn’t happen a lot, but all you can do is put the work in every single day and hope that it's enough."

Mahomes and Matthews are also holding off on their wedding until after this coming season, which they hope ends Feb. 13 at Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in California.

The star quarterback said they have a date and location already set.

"We’ve already started planning a lot of it," he said. "We tried to get a lot of it knocked out before the season. It’ll be kind of a smaller one, and for the most part we’ll have family and friends there."

Sterling will play a role in the ceremony.

"She’ll be part of it for sure," Mahomes said. "I think she’ll be a little over a year old then, so hopefully she’s walking. We’ll get someone to carry her down, but it’ll be a lot of fun."