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Travis Kelce has spoken out for the first time since it was confirmed that he would be returning to the Kansas City Chiefs for another season.
After months of speculation, the news broke Monday morning that the NFL tight end would not be retiring and signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs. Speaking to Pat McAfee during Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Kelce both confirmed his return to the field while also touching on his fiancée, Grammy-winning Taylor Swift’s role in helping him decide.
“Let’s go! Making another run at it, baby, and the Chiefs are making moves, Pat,” Kelce told the show’s host.
Addressing the “Karma” singer, he explained that knowing that she is doing what she loves helped him realize that he is “still in love” with football.
“I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out, and just playing the game, you know, and I think my best opportunity was playing for the Chiefs yet again and running this thing back with Pat Mahomes and Coach Reid. And got my guy Eric Bieniemy, Coach Bieniemy back, and there’s a lot of pieces in Kansas City that I just absolutely love, and I can't wait to get back in the building with,” he said.
Speaking to Pat McAfee, Travis Kelce spoke about how Taylor Swift’s love for her career made him realize he loves football enough to play for another season in the NFL
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Speaking to Pat McAfee, Travis Kelce spoke about how Taylor Swift’s love for her career made him realize he loves football enough to play for another season in the NFL (Getty)
‘Knowing that I'm going through something where I'm trying to figure out what exactly the future holds for me, something like that definitely motivates me,’ Kelce said about Swift’s passion
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‘Knowing that I'm going through something where I'm trying to figure out what exactly the future holds for me, something like that definitely motivates me,’ Kelce said about Swift’s passion (Getty)
He went on to gush about how “amazing” it is to see Swift “keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies...and on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.”
“That’s motivating for anyone to see, let alone my fiancée, and knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out what exactly the future holds for me, something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what, I'm not done either,’” Kelce added.
McAfee then pointed out one accidental hint Kelce dropped that he would likely not be retiring in the 2026–2027 NFL season, recalling how he enthusiastically praised the return of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy a few months ago.
“Once I started dating Taylor, I started understanding what Easter Eggs were, and kind of just placing those things all over the planet and everybody starts to catch on,” the NFL player joked. “Yeah, that was a slip-up... I didn't even realize I said that.”
The couple first announced their engagement in August 2025 with a series of photos on Instagram showing the football player on one knee under an arch of roses in the center of a garden.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the joint post was captioned.
The post garnered more than 1.5 million likes within 10 minutes of being shared by the couple — and over 10 million within an hour.