Taylor Swift (left) and Jason Kelce in October 2024. Photo:
TheStewartofNY/GC Images
Taylor Swift is not getting in the way of Travis Kelce’s desire to keep playing football.
During a stop on The Stephen A. Smith Show on Wednesday, Jan. 15, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 35, was asked if Swift, also 35, was “encouraging” him to retire since football is a violent sport.
“She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game,” Kelce told host Stephen A. Smith. “She loves coming to Arrowhead [Stadium] and coming to the games and cheering for me, so I got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams.”
Travis Kelce (ledt) and Taylor Swift in January 2024. Patrick Smith/Getty
Earlier in his interview with Smith, 57, Kelce said he was not thinking about retirement at the moment. Instead, he is thinking about the playoffs, which start for the Chiefs on Saturday, Jan. 18, against the Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I love everything that I’m doing in this building,” Kelce said. “But at the end of the day, I’m not having that extreme success on the field as I have individually, man. I’m excited for these next couple games to play up at Arrowhead, to finish this season off.”
Kelce said he would “reevaluate” his career as he “always” does. 
“And I’ll probably tell myself how much I love this thing,” he continued. “It’s something you have to keep in 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.”
Travis Kelce (left) and Taylor Swift in February 2024. Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty
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Kelce did have a down year, at least in comparison to his best seasons. He had career lows with 823 receiving yards and three touchdowns. But before the season even began, Kelce was being asked about retirement.
“It didn’t cross my mind one bit,” Kelce told sportscaster Rich Eisen in September when Eisen asked if he considered retiring after the Chiefs won another Super Bowl in February.
“I think the excitement of the challenge of this year, being able to maybe do it a third time in a row, I think that alone was all I needed,” Kelce continued. “That was an instant thought, so there was really not a chance in hell that I wasn’t coming back this year.”
The Chiefs are hoping to become the first NFL team in history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The team has already won three since 2019.
Swift and Kelce started dating in 2023. The pop star plans to attend the Jan. 18 game, Kelce said on The Pat McAfee Show earlier this week.
