After declining the chance to host Saturday Night Live, Patrick Mahomes revealed why he didn’t feel ready to accept.
“I have a little bit of a fear with the teleprompter,” Mahomes, 28, told TIME in an interview published on Tuesday, April 16.
Although Patrick is still unsure about his SNL plans, his teammate Travis Kelce hosted in March. Other notable NFL players including Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and J.J. Watt took the stage over the years as well.
Mahomes’ 100 Most Influential People profile noted that Mahomes was “still scarred” from a “bad experience” at the ESPYs. At the most recent ceremony, the quarterback gave a speech for winning best male athlete.
“It was an incredible season, many ups, many downs,” he said at the awards show. “I have to thank my teammates, my coaches, basically just making me look good. I’m the quarterback, I just throw the ball and they make it all work.”
Mahomes thanked his family and teammates for their help in getting him on the stage.
“I appreciate my teammates, my coaches, the guys that are here,” Patrick, who shares daughter Sterling, 3, and son Bronze, 16 months, with wife Brittany Mahomes, said. “I have to thank my family; Brittany, Bronze and Sterling. I’m glad that all that hard work is paying off. they’re making me the guy that I am, the man that I am, so I want to thank them.”
He concluded: “And finally, Chiefs Kingdom. Chiefs Kingdom, I truly believe, is the best fan base in the world. We’re going to do this thing again, we’re going to keep this thing rolling. I appreciate all y’all.”
Elsewhere in the TIME profile, Patrick hinted that he knows when he would retire from playing football.
“I’ve looked, if I played until Tom [Brady]’s age, my daughter would be 19, 20 years old,” he explained. “I would love to play that long. At the same time, I want to be there for my daughter. If I can do that, I’ll continue to play. But if I feel like it’s taking away from my family time, that’s when I’ll know it’s time to go.”
Patrick, who has helped the Kansas City Chiefs win three Super Bowls, said he didn’t want to leave anything out there” when he retired.
“My family and football are the first things I want to be great at,” he added. “If I can go out there and say that I gave everything I had on the football field, expectations are what they are and whatever is going to happen is going to happen. And I can be satisfied with that.”
