Travis Kelce admitted his rising fame brings challenges both on and off the court, but insisted he and girlfriend Taylor Swift are shutting out the noise surrounding their relationship.
The tight end reached new heights of fame in 2023 after winning his second Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, hosting Saturday Night Live and going public with his romance with Taylor Swift.
The couple’s love story has dominated headlines all season, with the pop star attending several of his matches.
But both Kelce and Swift have faced questions with some fans and analysts blaming the singer for the Chiefs star’s dip in production this season.
“It would be foolish to say I haven’t noticed the increase,” he said when asked about his increased fame during Friday’s news conference.
Travis Kelce admitted his rising fame brings challenges both on and off the field
“I think the Super Bowl helped with that and obviously the way I live my life off the field definitely helps,” he added with a sly smile. “But I owe this to myself and I like to have fun with it and make sure my focus is here in this building.”
The tight end admitted his new relationship with the global superstar and the high profile that comes with it comes with challenges, especially when it comes to questions about his on-field performance.
“It’s just the outside noise and dealing with everyone’s perspective,” he said.
“You hear it all season through the media when I haven’t had success or when things aren’t going well, that we may not be focused, but when you’re in this building you know what’s going on. So you have to distribute what you hear and make sure you stay on task and give everyone in the building and on that team the right perception.”
But he insisted he and the 12-time Grammy Award winner would tune out the noise and focus on their relationship.
“As long as we are happy, we cannot listen to the noise from outside,” he added.
Swift has attended several games at tight end this season with much fanfare and attention, with the broadcast often focused on her in the stands.
But when the Chiefs collapsed toward the end of the regular season, NFL fans — or the “Chads, Brads and Dads” as Swift called them — were unhappy with the attention the singer was receiving from the league and the media.
Fox Sports analyst Skip Bayless even chimed in and claimed it was time to call Swift a distraction for Kelce and the Rulers Super Bowl champions after their loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day.
More to follow.
