Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was not the dominant player he has typically been last season, and he knows it.
While Kelce has been one of the most dominant and consistent tight ends in NFL history throughout most of his career, that was not the case last year as he posted career-worst numbers in nearly every major receiving statistic.
Kelce faced a lot of criticism last season for apparently failing to put his full focus on football as he instead spent much of the offseason traveling with superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift and focusing on other opportunities in the entertainment world. Now, Kelce is actually owning up to that a little bit.
During a very candid interview with GQ Magazine for a cover story titled "America's Sweetheart: Travis Kelce," the Kansas City Chiefs tight end seemingly admitted that his focus was not entirely on football in preparation for last season.
"Win a Super Bowl is the only goal," Kelce told GQ Magazine. "It's the only goal. It's every goal."
Of course, that didn't happen last year, as the team suffered a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. And Kelce admits that he didn't spend as much time preparing himself for the season.
"I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up. And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer," he says. "I don't say this as ‘I shouldn't have done it.' I'm just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven't been to my standard."
That said, it sounds like Kelce placed some extra emphasis on making sure he's ready to play this season.
"I just have such a motivation to show up this year for my guys," Kelce added.
After briefly considering retirement after the 2024 season, Kelce has decided to return to the Kansas City Chiefs for what could be the final season of his NFL career. We'll have to see whether or not he is able to successfully bounce back and play up to his standard.
Travis Kelce Admits Difficult Truth: I 'Slipped a Little Bit' first appeared on Men's Journal on Aug 12, 2025
2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.