Kansas City Chiefs rising star Patrick Mahomes has kicked off the 2021 Hickok Belt® Award by being selected the winner of two honors, the “overall” winner for 2020 and the monthly winner for January 2021. Voting was conducted by a select panel of members of the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). Mahomes was selected the January winner due to his two playoff victories against the Cleveland Browns and the favored Buffalo Bills. These two wins clinched the third straight AFC title for the Chiefs. In addition, Mahomes won the “overall” yearly 2020 Hickok Belt® Award for his victory in Super Bowl LIV and his performance in the entire 2020 sports season.
“What a year Patrick Mahomes has had,” said NSMA executive director Dave Goren. “He won last year’s Super Bowl and led the Chiefs back again to this year’s.”
Other finalists for January in order of how the NSMA ranked them were: Bradley Beal (basketball), Dustin Poirier (UFC), Travis Kelce (football), Joel Embiid (basketball), Leon Draisaiti (hockey), Petr Mrazek (hockey), Patrick Reed (golf), Jessica Korda (golf), Knick Go (Jockey: Joel Rosario) (horse racing).
Other finalists for the “overall” award included each of the 2020 Hickok Belt® Award monthly winners, who finished in the following order, based on the NSMA voting: LeBron James (basketball), Dustin Johnson (golf), Bryson DeChambeau (golf) and Josh Allen (football) – tie, Donovan Mitchell (basketball), and Jon Rahm (golf).
“This is the beginning of a very long career for the young quarterback Patrick Mahomes who already has been playing on an elite level,” said Tony Liccione of the Hickok Belt® Award. “I anticipate a very long battle royal between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs as they are the two premier teams of the AFC division.”
Mahomes’ selection as the Hickok Belt® Award winner not only recognizes him as “the best of the best” in professional sports for the month of January, it also makes him the first candidate eligible to receive the 2021 overall award as he will be joined by other finalists throughout the year based on NSMA voting.
To learn more about the Hickok Belt® Award and its history, visit www.hickokbelt.com.
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