Who is Travis Kelce? Five things to know for Taylor Swift fans not from Kansas City

Travis Kelce is well-known to Kansas City Chiefs fans, of course. The superstar tight end is not only a two-time Super Bowl winner but also a fan favorite, not only for his football skills but also his talent for off-the-field entertainment.

From his turn starring in a reality TV dating show, to the podcast he shares with his brother and hosting Saturday Night Live, Kelce’s fame has gone beyond Kansas City.

But now, linked by a recent report in The Messenger to singer Taylor Swift, Kelce’s name is coming to the attention of millions more, including Taylor Swift fans who might not follow the NFL.

So who is Travis Kelce? If you just learned about him, here are five key things to know.

Two-time Super Bowl champion

Kelce’s been an integral part of the Chiefs since he was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft in 2013. He’s been one of the team’s top pass catchers since he arrived and was crucial to helping the team win Super Bowl LIV in 2020 and Super Bowl LVII in 2023.

He scored a touchdown in each of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victories with head coach Andy Reid, and led the team with 133 receiving yards in their Super Bowl LV loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.

Throughout his postseason career, he’s caught the ball 133 times for 1,548 receiving yards and scored 16 touchdowns, all Chiefs franchise records and league-bests for tight ends.

He’s second all-time in each of those stats, sitting behind Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice.

One of the best tight ends in NFL history

The longest-tenured Chief on the current roster is often called the best tight end in league history, garnering comparisons with Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Chief Tony Gonzalez and retired tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Some of Kelce’s accolades include:

• Eight-time Pro Bowler

• Four-time first-team All-Pro selection. He’s been voted to the second-team three times

• Fifth tight end in NFL history to reach 10,000 career receiving yards. He’s also the fastest tight end to earn the milestone

• He’s finished seven consecutive regular seasons with 1,000 receiving yards, the NFL record for the most consecutive and more overall for a tight end

He accomplished all of this despite missing most of his rookie season in 2013 with a knee injury.

He had his own dating reality TV show

In 2016, the reality TV dating show “Catching Kelce” featured the NFL player trying to find a long-time lover from a group of 50 women — one from each state in the U.S.

Kelce said on The Pivot football podcast in January that he doesn’t regret doing the show, but has sworn off doing any more reality TV because of it.

“I don’t think I got portrayed as myself,” Kelce said on The Pivot. “And there were a lot of things that just made me uncomfortable about the show. “I don’t really necessarily want to talk about it because I don’t want to say anything about the ladies or any of them. But I was asked to do more than I wanted to. … That doesn’t always work out great.

“I don’t necessarily say I regret it but it was definitely a learning experience.”

His podcast with his brother is a hit

Kelce and his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, started the “New Heights” podcast in September 2022. The two brothers provide listeners with inside access to life as a professional football player as the season goes on.

The duo will sometimes have special guests join them. They recently had Jason’s wife, Kylie McDevitt, on the podcast, where she gave her insights on “Catching Kelce.”

Past guests include Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and basketball hall of fame Charles Barkley.

During their live episode at Kansas City Music Hall on April 26 during NFL Draft weekend, the brothers were joined by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

He’s a good comedian

Kelce’s one of the most charismatic NFL players in the league. You can see him dancing after he scores a touchdown and most recently, has been featured on the Chiefs’ social media pages answering questions like who’s his celebrity crush or joking around with the team during practice.

While Chiefs fans knew of his charm, the nation saw it when he hosted Saturday Night Live in March.

“I had an absolute blast, man,” Kelce said of his experience on the “New Heights” podcast. “The cast and the writers and everybody involved made it everything that I was ever expecting and hoping it could be. I can’t say enough about Heidi Gardner and who she is, how she really pushed the envelope of getting a Kansas City football guy in that building to host or just to be a part of the show. And then she absolutely kills it, as always.”

Some of his skits included playing an American Girl Doll superfan, a crazy self-defense instructor and being the “Straight Male Friend.” Brother Jason Kelce also joined him in a skit, where he played the boyfriend of SNL cast member and Kansas City native Heidi Gardner.

Critics thought Kelce performed well in his SNL debut.