Chiefs' Travis Kelce explains how Taylor Swift helps make him a better player

Pete Grathoff, The Kansas City Star on Jan 15, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce declared himself the No. 1 Swiftie during an interview Wednesday on “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”

That should come as little surprise considering Kelce and superstar singer Taylor Swift have been dating for nearly 18 months.

Kelce, who made the Pro Bowl for the 10th time this season after piling up 97 catches for 823 yards, talked about how Swift has enabled him to continue to be successful in his 12th NFL season.

“That’s the beauty of being in a very strong relationship is that you get that support to be able to come in and focus on your craft, focus on being the best version of you,” Kelce told Smith. “That’s why I wanted to be at the concerts supporting her and being there for her, making sure she feels comfortable and supported in everything she’s doing in life.

“I’m as focused as I’ve ever been on my job and being the best player that I could possibly be week in, week out for this team. And it’s because I don’t have to worry about things off the field.”

Kelce eyeing retirement?

Smith broached the subject of retirement a couple times during the 30-minute interview. In one instance, Smith asked if Swift wants the 35-year-old Kelce to step away from the NFL.

“She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game,” Kelce said. “She loves coming to Arrowhead and coming to the games and cheering for me, so I’ve got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams.”

At another point in the interview, Kelce was asked why he would ever consider retirement given his successful season.

But Kelce shared what would make him walk away from football.

“It changes every single day, man,” Kelce said. “I love everything that I’m doing in this building. But at the end of the day, I’m not having that extreme success on the field as I have individually. I’m excited for these next couple games, to play up at Arrowhead, to finish this season off and I’ll reevaluate it as I always do. And I’ll probably tell myself how much I love this thing and I’ll come back next year.

“It’s something you have to keep into perspective man. I never want to get to the point where I’m not helping this team win or I’m hurting this team more than I’m helping this team. As long as I’m coming out here playing good football and enjoying coming into the building every day with my guys, you’ll see me in a Chiefs uniform.”