As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to make their first Super Bowl appearance in half a century, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is calling in a secret weapon: his barber.
DeJuan Bonds may not be an expert when it comes to football, but he’s the brains behind Mahomes’ signature locks.
Bonds, who owns the Purple Label Barber Shop in Kansas City, is headed to Miami on Friday to give the quarterback and his teammates fresh cuts before the game.
“I’m honored, and I’m happy that I’ve been the chosen barber for Patrick Mahomes and a few of the Chiefs players,” he told NBC News’ local affiliate KSN-TV.
Aaron Wyatt, a barber who has worked at Purple Label for over two decades, said the relationship between Bonds and the team is “really, really unique.”
“He’s been cutting the Chiefs forever,” Wyatt told NBC News. “He’s been rolling with them in heartbreak, sticking with them through thick and thin. He’s diehard.”
Of Mahomes’ signature cut, he added, “it’s something to differentiate him — to set him apart.”
The son of former Major League Baseball player Pat Mahomes, the Chiefs’ quarterback is a born athlete. In 2018, his first season as a starter, he was named First-Team All-Pro, NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and the league’s MVP. Mahomes, 24, is only the second African American quarterback in NFL history to win the MVP award outright.
The Chiefs will face off against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday — and the outcome may come down to Mahomes.
As millions watch the game across the nation, his barber’s handiwork will be on full display — a fact he doesn’t take lightly.
“I believe I need to do the best haircut I’ve ever done because all eyes is going to be on this haircut on Sunday coming,” Bonds said.