Latest news with #ThroneSportCoffee
CNBC
11-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Patrick Mahomes is investing in his love for coffee — and isn't thrilled about an 18-game season
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has added "coffee entrepreneur" to his already packed resume. The three-time Super Bowl champion has invested in Throne Sport Coffee, adding to the 29-year-old superstar's portfolio off the field. As his Chiefs and the rest of the NFL gear up for the upcoming season, Mahomes spoke to CNBC about his interest in coffee, his growing investment portfolio in sports properties, stadium politics in Kansas City and his take on an 18-game NFL season. Mahomes became the second largest investor in Throne Sport Coffee in May 2024, with an undisclosed stake. Today, he's not only an investor, but also the brand's lead pitchman and product tester — and a daily drinker. "It actually started in my first year in the NFL," Mahomes told CNBC of his coffee habit. "I was in a lot of meetings, and coffee became a functional need. But then I started to really love it, especially black coffee." When CEO, founder and beverage industry veteran Mike Fedele approached him with a ready-to-drink option designed to be a healthier caffeine boost, he said it felt like a natural fit for him. "I really fell in love with just the taste and trying to make sure that what I was putting into my body was good," he said. Fedele, who has worked with major brands like Coca-Cola and BodyArmor, said Throne stands out because it has 10 grams of protein and 40% less sugar than competitors. Throne coffee has about 50 calories in it with 1 gram of sugar. For comparison, a ready-to-drink Starbucks Frappuccino can have as many as 300 calories and 47 grams of sugar. "Given how frequently people that care about what they're putting into their bodies consume coffee, I felt there needed to be a better for you option," he said. Mahomes said his daily caffeine habit includes three coffees a day: one when he wakes up, another before meetings, and a third ahead of afternoon prep. "It's probably too much," he laughed, "but with Throne, I know I'm putting something clean in my body, no junk, no sugar, and added electrolytes, and B vitamins." On game days? He said he tones it down to just one or two. The ready-to-drink coffee market is a rapidly growing category. Americans spent $17.7 billion on the category in 2023, according to Technomic. Despite its growth prospects, Throne is competing in a crowded coffee space, with coffee shop competitors rounding out their ready-to-drink offering. Starbucks announced this week that it is expanding its ready-to-drink lineup, citing the latest consumer trends and growth of the category. Throne is just one part of Mahomes' growing investment portfolio. The three-time Super Bowl MVP also holds minority stakes in MLB's Kansas City Royals, Sporting Kansas City of the MLS and the NWSL's KC Current, along with Alpine F1. "I love sports. I love how they bring people together: families, communities. That's what I want to invest in," Mahomes said. So does that mean he's eyeing a future ownership stake in the Chiefs? "That would be cool," he said. "Hopefully a long time from now, but yeah, I'd love to be a part of the team after I'm done playing. They've done so much for me." The Chiefs' stadium future is still undecided, as the franchise is deciding whether to renovate Arrowhead Stadium or build a new stadium in Kansas. Mahomes didn't say where he would prefer the team to play. "Arrowhead is special. You feel the history. But wherever we play, the fans will show up," he said. The Chiefs were recently granted a one-year extension to make a decision on their future stadium. On leaguewide issues, Mahomes said he's cautious about proposals for an 18-game NFL season and international expansion, including the Chiefs' Week 1 game in Brazil. "More games are tough on the body. If we're going to go to 18, we need more bye weeks. Same with international games, planning matters."
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Throne Sport Coffee wants you awake like Patrick Mahomes (minus the glory)
Throne Sport Coffee wants you awake like Patrick Mahomes (minus the glory) Besides all the world championships, Patrick Mahomes' most valuable contribution to America's football-loving dads is his ability to subvert expectations. He helped the Kansas City Chiefs break through to glory after nearly five decades without a Super Bowl appearance. He proved Texas Tech quarterbacks were no longer figureheads of glorious-but-empty statistics. And, vitally, he showed the world the peak body type for an elite athlete carries just enough padding around the midsection. Mahomes' dad bod has only improved his game, giving him a bit of heft while in no way detracting from his laser cannon arm or defense-breaking scrambling ability. It's wonderful for dorks like me, who can celebrate the fact that, hell yes, we have something in common with one of the greatest athletes to ever take the field. But it's also makes his endorsements a bit funnier. Coors Light? Yeah, that tracks. A healthy iced coffee aimed at athletes? A little less so! Throne inked Mahomes as its face of Sport Coffee, a low(ish) calorie, low(ish) sugar canned brew that aims to deliver caffeine and nutrients for an active lifestyle. And maybe it works because Mahomes is relatable -- a guy who isn't meticulous about counting off each ab muscle but thrives anyway. We all want to be at least a little bit like the quarterback with three Super Bowl MVPs, right? Well, maybe a little canned coffee is all it takes. Of course, there's a snowball's chance in hell Sport Coffee does anything for me beyond waking me up and helping my mornings feel a little less unpleasant. Let's see how it tastes. Sport Coffee Mint Mocha: A- Cracking the can unleashes a gorgeous wave of mint chocolate coffee aroma. It's enough to fill my office like an ice cream air freshener. Dig deeper and there's a slightly stale canned coffee smell lurking underneath, but for the most part it's great. It pours the expected brown of a cold brew. There's no dairy involved, and the pour backs up the idea this won't be an oat milk situation or something similar. I'm slightly concerned, since my typical coffee is a milk+protein powder combination. Fortunately, Sport Coffee needs no cream. The mint and mocha create a soft landing spot if, like me, you're not a black coffee drinker. Despite clocking in at 50 calories with cane sugar as the second ingredient, there's a sweet current that ties everything together and makes this a crushable coffee. It's not sticky or overpowering, but it works well with the acid of the coffee to prevent things from getting bitter or needing creamer. The chocolate enhances the light roast of the cold brew. This all works in harmony to create a dessert-ish drink that works well as a morning eye-opener -- particularly given the added caffeine that cranks the overall content to 150 milligrams in an 11-ounce can. That makes it an easy breakfast pickup with enough B vitamins to at least give the illusion of warding off a hangover. All in all, pretty solid. Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's? This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Throne Sport Coffee over a cold can of Hamm's? Actually, this would be a great start to a tailgate before I could get to the Hamm's. Might be weird chasing one with the other, though. This is part of FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
