THANK GOD HE DIDN'T LISTEN!!!

Pat Mahomes Sr. made the shocking revelation to us ... saying he was convinced Pat had a better shot at going pro in baseball and basketball -- especially since the Univ. of Texas was recruiting him to play DEFENSE!!

"They were recruiting him as a safety. And, I was telling him, 'Why don't we quit this and let's just concentrate on the other two?'"

"I said, 'We're just wasting time with this football thing.'"

Pat's suggestion wasn't exactly misguided ... the elder Mahomes was an MLB pitcher for more than a decade -- and says his son showed clear talent to be a future pro in BOTH baseball and hoops.

But, the QB didn't listen to Sr. ... and said, "Dad, I want to be out there with my teammates. I want to be out there with the guys I've been playing with forever."

Turned out to be a pretty good decision ... Mahomes starred at Texas Tech -- and is the best young quarterback in the NFL right now.

BUT ... it does make ya wonder -- what IF Mahomes had decided to step off the gridiron and focus solely on the other two sports??

Something tells us we'd be seein' a whole lot of this in the NBA right now ...