Who is Jackson Mahomes? Why Taylor Swift fans are reacting to his presence at a recent Chiefs game

The speculation around Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s rumored romance is drawing attention to another person in Kelce’s orbit: Jackson Mahomes, the brother of Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes.

Jackson Mahomes was on hand during a now-viral moment shared between Swift and Brittany Mahomes in the player’s box during the most recent Chiefs vs. Chargers game on October 22.

He looked on as Swift and Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Patrick Mahomes, showed off an elaborate handshake, and at one point leaned down to join them with a smile.

The presence of Jackson Mahomes inspired a flurry of social media posts from Swifties. Many of the concerned posts appeared to stem from a case involving Jackson Mahomes earlier this year.

The influencer was charged with three counts of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of battery following an alleged incident that a police spokesperson said happened at a Kansas restaurant in February. Jackson Mahomes' lawyer said that his client “has done nothing wrong.”

"Jackson Mahomes a little too close to Tay Tay," one person wrote on the X platform after video surfaced of Mahomes hanging out with Swift. "Surprised the NFL hasn’t sent a blocker up to the suite."

"I’m scared for Taylor Swift with Jackson Mahomes right there," another person posted.

"just found out who jackson mahomes is and honestly i never expected her security team to suck this bad in a situation like this, this man should not be allowed near her, i don’t care who his brother is," another X user wrote.

"I love Taylor Swift but there is a part of me that got ick yesterday with her doing celebrations with Jackson Mahomes," read another X post.

As the “Traylor” speculation continues to unfold, read on to learn more about Jackson Mahomes.

Jackson Mahomes is the younger brother of Patrick Mahomes

Jackson Mahomes, 23, is the younger brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, 28.

He was Patrick Mahomes’ best man when he tied the knot with Brittany Matthews in March 2022, according to a photo he shared on Instagram.

“We’re super close, we have a great relationship,” Jackson Mahomes said of his older brother in a 2020 YouTube video.

Jackson Mahomes is featured frequently in Instagram photos shared by his mom, Randi Mahomes, often posing with his older brother and his 12-year-old sister, Mia.

Jackson Mahomes also came up with the nickname for Patrick's youngest son, Patrick “Bronze” Lavon Mahomes III, who was born in November 2022.

"I always thought (the nickname) was going to be ‘Tre’ as the third. You hear a lot of people doing that," Patrick Mahomes said during a news conference, according to USA Today.

"My brother Jackson (Mahomes), whenever we were trying to find something that was a little unique and different, he said, ‘What about Bronze? It fits perfectly with Sterling,'" he continued, referencing the name of his daughter. "So we went with that."

He has a huge social media following

Jackson Mahomes has 1.1 million TikTok followers and hundreds of thousands of subscribers on other platforms.

He appears to have partnerships with multiple brands, and has shared sponsored posts for companies including Amazon Prime, AT&T and Doritos.

Jackson Mahomes studied marketing at the University of Missouri Kansas City, he said in a 2020 YouTube video.

“If I had a dream job, it would be really to work in the marketing industry,” he said in the video. “I would love to connect influencers with brands.”

Jackson Mahomes released two lines of his own merchandise, Unathletic and Jackson from TikTok, in 2020.

As he explained in a Sept. 2020 YouTube video, launching his own brands was a way of defining himself separately from his brother’s fame.

“'Jackson from TikTok’ means a lot to me because it was the first time in my life … that I was known not as just Patrick Mahomes’ brother,” he said. “I’ll never forget the first time I was at a football game or at a store, and people came up to me noticing me as Jackson from TikTok."

He was charged with aggravated sexual battery in 2023

Jackson Mahomes was charged with three felony counts of aggravated sexual battery, and one count of battery, following an incident that occurred on Feb. 25, 2023, in Overland Park, Kansas, according to court documents shared by The Kansas City Star.

He was charged with “unlawfully and feloniously touching the person of another” person “who did not consent to the touching,” the court document said.

Jackson Mahomes’ attorney, Brandan Davies, said in a statement to the Kansas City Star that Mahomes “has done nothing wrong.”

“Our investigation has revealed substantial evidence refuting the claims of Jackson’s accuser including the statements of several witnesses,” his statement read, as reported by The Kansas City Star.

“We have reached out to law enforcement to provide the fruit of our investigation so that they may have a complete picture of the matter.”

According to a court document outlining the charges filed against Jackson Mahomes, he is not allowed to “publicly comment about this case, the facts, alleged victim or her business.”

He made headlines in the past for other controversies

Jackson Mahomes has caught attention in the past for some other incidents.

In September 2021, a video went viral of Jackson Mahomes pouring water over the head of a Baltimore Ravens fan.

In the video, at least one fan could be heard taunting Jackson Mahomes after the Ravens beat the Chiefs during a game at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

Jackson Mahomes then poured a bottle of water over the fan before walking away.

The influencer himself shared the video on X, writing in the caption, “They were thirsty.”

Patrick Mahomes later addressed the incident involving his brother in a news conference.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously it’s something that we don’t want to necessarily do,” he said, according to The Kansas City Star. “There was things said to him, and Brittany, that you don’t see kind of on the clip. But, I mean he’s been good at it, at not trying to respond to that stuff.

“He takes a lot and he’s usually pretty good at it,” the quarterback continued, “and he’ll learn from it and just try to stay away from those people as best he can.”

Jackson Mahomes also received backlash in October 2021 when he posted a TikTok video of himself dancing on a memorial logo dedicated to late NFL player Sean Taylor.

Taylor died in 2007 after being shot in his home during a botched burglary.

On Oct. 18, 2021, the day the Washington Commanders (then known as the Washington Football Team) retired Taylor’s jersey number, Jackson Mahomes was filmed dancing on the “21” memorial logo on the field, sparking criticism that he was disrespecting the late player’s memory.

Later that night, Jackson Mahomes issued an apology on X.

“I want to sincerely apologize for accidentally being on the Sean Taylor #21 at FedEx Field,” he wrote. “We were directed to stand in that area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com