Travis Kelce is having a moment.
In addition to being the defending Super Bowl LVII champions, his team — the Kansas City Chiefs — are the current betting favourites to go all the way at this year’s Super Bowl LVIII.
The man is also in conversations with all-time great tight ends, and oh yeah… he recently shacked up with the most famous woman on the planet.
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Now Kelce’s personal life being the subject of massive media attention is by no means anything new. Back in 2015, there was an entire reality television program called Catching Kelce in which women vied for the athlete’s affection.
So when he revealed that he’d tried giving Taylor Swift a bracelet with his phone number, then followed up by inviting her to a games during his latest appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, it really was just business as usual.
“I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock a stage at Arrowhead and we can see which ones a little more lit.’ We’ll see what happens in the near future,” he said.
Fast forward to today and “Zeus” has actually made good on his promise. In a 41-10 landslide victory against the Chicago Bears, Kelce recorded seven receptions, 69 receiving yards, and a single touchdown as Ms Swift sat in box seats and cheered alongside his mother Donna.
Let’s stop for a second an really examine what this means: an artist who literally just turned down performing at the upcoming Super Bowl was there to support a guy who’s trying to get back there. And he spoke it all into existence.
Travis Kelce has consistently exceeded expectations in his career. He was originally considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, before accepting a scholarship with the University of Cincinnati to play for the Bearcats with his older brother Jason Kelce.
There, he was forced to serve a suspension and sit out the entirety of the 2010 season after violating the team’s rules surrounding marijuana; his stellar playing ability was unfortunately largely overshadowed by this controversy as well as the profile of his brother.
The younger Kelce was picked 63 overall in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, which is commonly regarded as one of the most underwhelming draft classes in recent memory. In his rookie season, he only played in one game due to being sidelined with knee surgery. But ever since then, he’s been one of the most valuable players in a Kansas City uniform.
He’s a two-time Super Bowl champion (LIV, LVII), a four-time first-team All-Pro (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022), an eight-time Pro Bowl selection (2015-2022), and a member of the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade team. Currently in his 11th season, Kelce ranks fourth in receiving yards, fifth in receptions, and sixth in receiving touchdowns among every NFL tight who’s ever played.
Last year, Kelce posted his seventh consecutive 1,000+ yard season (the most of any tight end ever) and overtook Rob Gronkowski as the man with the second-most NFL playoff touchdowns in history. He leads all tight ends with 71.8 receiving yards per game.
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Sure, he’s got Patrick Mahomes — a prime candidate for quarterback GOAT — throwing him the old pigskin, but anyone who’s ever seen a second of Travis Kelce footage knows that his skills as a pass-catcher are virtually unrivalled.
The way he’s able to find gaps in the defence (despite being 6-foot-5 and 256 pounds) and haul in passes by leveraging his size, strength, as well as speed is already enough to put him in that tight end GOAT conversation. Kelce’s salary, however, doesn’t really reflect this.
At a time when the NFL’s best pass-catchers are being paid more than ever, his average annual salary is roughly US$14.3 million (AU$22.3 million). He’s in the second year of a US$57.25 million (AU$89.12 million) four-year deal — with US$22.75 million (AU$35.42 million) guaranteed — which was officially inked back in 2020. His base salary of US$11.25 million (AU$17.51 million) only ranks as the 54th highest in the NFL (as of: 2023).
Despite this, Travis Kelce seems perfectly content with the winning environment of Kansas City. In conversation with Vanity Fair, the star player hailing from Westlake, Ohio claimed that getting paid wasn’t exactly a high priority… even though he’s entering the late stage of his prime at 33 years old.
“My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am. Any time I talk about wanting more money, they’re just like, ‘Why don’t you go to the Chiefs and ask them?’” said Kelce.
“The free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in.”
