Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been front and center in a lot of the team’s biggest moments the last few years — both on the field and off.
As much as he seems comfortable in the role as a football player, which has already won him three Super Bowl rings, Kelce has also accepted how far his reach has extended, in large part because of his high-profile relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.
For the Chiefs to pull off an unprecedented “three-peat” at Super Bowl 59, Kelce welcomes the chance to take the spotlight once again.
“It’s similar to things you might have going on in your life outside the building throughout the season,” Kelce said. “You’ve got to be able to compartmentalize what you’re going through and still be able to be accountable at work.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes attests to Kelce’s success.
“He doesn’t let the moment be bigger than what is,” said Mahomes. “He just goes out there and executes at a high level just like he does in the regular season. He just does that a little bit higher (in) intensity.”
Kelce's dynamic duos
The pairing of Mahomes and Kelce is a powerful one: They’re the quarterback-receiver tandem with the most total touchdowns in NFL postseason history. They added another touchdown in the AFC Divisional playoff game against Houston, extending their record that was previously set last year against Buffalo.
But for most people, it wasn’t until Kelce and Swift got together that the Chiefs tight end became a household name. After Kelce attended Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Kansas City, Swift began showing up at Arrowhead Stadium for Chiefs home games — tripling ticket prices simply by the chance of her being there.
The duo reached a peak of power a year ago, when Swift won the Grammy for Album of the Year while Kelce prepared for Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas.
“She’s unbelievable,” Kelce said on the Super Bowl opening night in 2024. “She’s rewriting the history books herself. I told her I’ll have to hold up my end of the bargain and come home with some hardware, too.”
Kelce did hold up his end, when the Chiefs were awarded the Vince Lombardi trophy after beating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, 25-22.
This past year, as Swift finished out her Eras Tour and continued to attend home games at Arrowhead, Kelce’s star has risen in other ways.
It’s the NFL’s goal to grow the sport internationally — and especially in the German-speaking market, which also includes Austria and Switzerland. The Kelce-Swift factor has been instrumental in helping the Chiefs, specifically, in doing that.
According to the NFL Players Associations (NFLPA), Kelce jersey sales were the No. 1 bestsellers in Germany between January and October last year, above even Mahomes. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Kelce doesn’t even crack the top 10.
“He’s definitely one of the biggest names in American football over here,” said Alex Steinforth, the NFL general manager in Germany.
Steinforth saw plenty of Kelce jerseys when he attended a Swift concert during her two-night stop in Hamburg, Germany, in late July. “To be fair, that’s one of the entry points for non-fans, casual fans that didn’t really have any overlap with football before,” said Steinforth.
At this stage of Kelce’s career, a lot of people are wondering about his possible retirement. His brother and podcast co-host Jason Kelce retired last year, setting off a wave of tributes from Swifties.
Football career highlight, or twilight?
En route to the Super Bowl, Taylor Swift and another high-profile athlete — Iowa native, Indiana Fever guard, and lifelong Chiefs fan Caitlin Clark — were on hand for the Divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans.
There, Kelce had his season-best performance, with seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
The 35-year old Kelce said afterward that he felt 22 again.
“That’s why he’s the greatest tight end there’s been,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said afterward.
Kelce has 823 receiving yards this season, his lowest one-season total since becoming a Chiefs starter in 2014. But before departing for New Orleans, Reid appeared unconcerned: “He can still play. He’s all right.”
Kelce was asked on Super Bowl Opening Night this week where he sees himself in three years.
“I feel like I still got a lot of good football left in me, but we’ll see what happens,” said Kelce. “I know I’ve been setting myself up for other opportunities in my life. It’s always been the goal knowing that football only lasts for so long.”
Some of those opportunities have come to fruition in the last year: a nine-figure podcast deal for “New Heights,” an acting gig in the FX show “Grotesquerie” and the host role of Prime Video’s “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”
But Kelce’s story with the Chiefs isn’t done yet.
While Taylor Swift may have come away empty at the Grammys this past Sunday, Kelce hopes he can make some big plays against the Eagles, and help bring home more hardware to Kansas City.
