Patrick Mahomes once tipped a pizza delivery worker an extra $5 because the note on the box didn’t match Brittany Mahomes’ usual handwriting. The delivery person said, “That comment made me double-check the writing.”

Why Patrick Mahomes Paid Extra Attention to a Simple Pizza Delivery

Sometimes, it’s the smallest gestures that echo the loudest truths about who we are and who we love. One late night in Kansas City, a pizza delivery driver discovered just how closely Patrick Mahomes pays attention—thanks to a handwritten note, a missing smiley face, and an unexpected $5 tip.

For the delivery driver, the route to the Mahomes home had practically become routine. Same order—pepperoni pizza and garlic knots—same cheerful welcome at the door. And almost always, the pizza box bore a familiar message: “Enjoy :)” scrawled on the lid in Brittany Mahomes’ handwriting, signature smiley face included.

But that night, something was different. The note said simply, “Enjoy!” No smiley. And the script didn’t look quite the same. Still, the driver thought little of it until Patrick answered the door.

Patrick opened the box, glanced at the note, and paused. The driver was used to polite nods or quick pleasantries, but this time Mahomes studied the message, his brow creased in quiet confusion.

He finally smiled and handed the driver a bill, plus an extra five-dollar tip. “I’m giving you an extra five bucks—not for the delivery, but because whoever wrote this wasn’t her. Just let them know—not to replace her.”

The driver was puzzled. On his way back to the restaurant, the phrase rattled in his mind. Had he made a mistake? Did someone forget something? It seemed odd, almost cryptic.

Back at work, curiosity got the better of him. He checked past order slips and notes requested by Brittany Mahomes. He noticed a clear pattern. Each time, her message was unique for its simplicity and warmth: “Enjoy :)” The little smiley face was always there—a subtle touch, impossible to miss once you knew to look for it.

That night, there was no smiley. No signature curve of the pen. Just the plain word, sterile and unmistakably not hers. Suddenly, the quarterback’s comment made perfect sense.

What Patrick noticed wasn’t about the food, or even the note itself—it was about the love and attention in the routine, the sort of quiet detail you only recognize when you’re paying real attention. Mahomes had noticed that a tiny piece of his wife’s presence was missing, something as ordinary as a drawn smile on a takeout box.

“He wasn’t mad or anything,” the driver explained later, telling the story to friends and coworkers. “He just cared enough to spot the difference—and cared enough to say ‘don’t replace her.’ It was like, in all the noise and craziness, those little things matter most.”

The next time the Mahomes family ordered from the restaurant, the old routine returned. “Enjoy :)” in Brittany’s handwriting and, of course, the signature smiley face. Patrick accepted the pizza with a nod and an easy smile, no extra words needed.

That moment stuck with the delivery driver long after the night ended. “People think of Patrick Mahomes as a superstar, the MVP, this huge presence. But I saw a regular guy who notices the smallest things about the person he loves. A missing smiley face on a box? He noticed. He cared.”

Now, every time the driver picks up a pen to write a note on a pizza box, he thinks about the little marks that carry the most meaning—the kinds of details that feel small, but make all the difference.

Because sometimes, it’s not about pizza at all. It’s about paying attention to love, and cherishing the ordinary rituals that keep us grounded—even on the biggest stage.

Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that reveal the biggest feelings.

One pizza delivery driver in Kansas City learned that lesson firsthand — all thanks to a handwritten note on a takeout box, and a quarterback with a sharp eye for detail.

It was just another late-night delivery shift, the kind filled with routine stops and quick drop-offs. The driver, who preferred to remain unnamed, picked up an order bound for the Mahomes residence. “It wasn’t the first time I delivered there,” he said. “But this one was… different.”

According to the driver, the order was standard: a large pepperoni pizza, a side of garlic knots, and a familiar note that typically came with it — handwritten on the box top.
Only this time, the note looked off.

“When I handed Patrick the box, he opened it slightly, glanced at the note, and then paused,” the driver recalled. “He didn’t look annoyed. Just… confused. Like something didn’t sit right.”

The note read simply: “Enjoy!”
Two words. Harmless, friendly, cheerful even.

But Patrick Mahomes furrowed his brow, stared for a second longer, and then said something unexpected.

He looked at the driver and said, “I’m giving you an extra five bucks… not for the tip, but because whoever wrote this wasn’t her. Just tell them — don’t replace her.”

The driver admitted he had no idea what Patrick meant.
“I thought maybe someone got in trouble. I even wondered if I delivered the wrong pizza,” he laughed.

It wasn’t until later, back at the restaurant, that it all clicked.

The driver checked previous order slips and notes written by the same staffer. And there it was — a pattern. Brittany Mahomes, who often requested this particular pizza spot for their late-night cravings, had a little signature when she asked for the delivery note.

Her usual message? “Enjoy :)” — with a colon and a parenthesis. Always.
That tiny smiley face was her thing.

“This time, there was no smiley. Just the word. Plain. Cold. It wasn’t hers,” the driver said.
“And then I got it. That’s why Patrick noticed. That’s why he tipped extra — not for the message itself, but for what it was missing.”

For someone else, it might’ve just been a note. But to Patrick, it was a quiet detail that mattered.

“I realized he wasn’t joking when he said ‘don’t replace her.’ It wasn’t about the handwriting. It was about something he sees every day, something she does, that maybe no one else notices. He did.”

The story spread quietly among the restaurant staff. No drama, no shouting, no complaints. Just one guy noticing that a handwritten smiley face wasn’t there — and caring enough to say so.

And the message? It wasn’t really about pizza at all.

“It stuck with me,” the driver said. “People think of Patrick Mahomes as this superstar, MVP, larger-than-life athlete. But what I saw that night was a guy who pays attention to the tiniest things about the person he loves. A missing smiley face on a box? Most people wouldn’t blink. But he noticed.”

The next time the Mahomes family ordered, the original message was back.
“Enjoy :)”
Same handwriting. Same smile. This time, Patrick didn’t say a word. He just smiled, nodded, and closed the door.

But the driver? He never looked at pizza the same way again.