SAO PAULO, Brazil — Travis Kelce’s life has been a whirlwind for a while now, but it has reached another level after he and music superstar Taylor Swift announced their engagement on the eve of his 13th NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Ahead of Friday night’s opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil, Kelce met the media on Thursday for the first time since the engagement announcement. He was asked if it’s difficult to focus with all that’s happened in his life.
“I got one more ring from it — two if we’re counting the first Super Bowl (while dating Taylor),” he said, eliciting laughter. “Ever since I’ve been dating Taylor, life has been fun. It’s been exciting. Obviously, a lot more eyes, and I accept that. It’s just … I’m living life, living on a high.”
Kelce, who turns 36 in October, didn’t tip his hand when asked if this will be his final NFL season.
“It’s the last one on the contract right now,” he said, “but I’ll tell you what, I’m feeling young and I’m feeling ready to rock, baby.”
Kelce said he is embracing his and his teammates’ role as NFL ambassadors this week in South America. The team flew in on Wednesday before going through a brief walk-through practice on Thursday morning in front of about 200 international reporters at the Sao Paulo Athletic Club.
“I’m pumped about tomorrow,” Kelce said, “and I’ll be sure to make sure I say hello to everybody in the crowd, knowing that they took the time to come out and see some American sports.”
Kelce started his news conference Thursday with a bit of humor. After quarterback Patrick Mahomes joked earlier in the week that he had to help Kelce with understanding where Brazil was on a map, Kelce’s opening words to reporters Thursday were made while doing a Mahomes impression.
Travis Kelce channeled his inner Patrick Mahomes when he answered this one pic.twitter.com/JDWK5c42Qq
— Steve Walls (@SteveWallsKC) September 4, 2025
The act drew laughs from reporters before Kelce broke out of the character and turned toward Mahomes with a smile.
“You had that one coming for telling everybody I didn’t know where Brazil was,” he said with a grin.
Though life has been hectic recently for Kelce — he also recently graced the cover of GQ — Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the team hadn’t noticed the fame changing the star tight end.
“Times are different for him, but it looks all the same to us. So he’s in a good place, worked very hard this training camp and offseason,” Reid said. “He looks forward to getting started.”
Kelce was open about embracing the people of Brazil. That included a brief encounter with wild fans when the Chiefs arrived at the Sao Paulo airport Wednesday night.
“It’s an exciting time. You get to hang out around the guys and the team, and this is something that we’ll all remember,” Kelce said of the trip. “So you’re just kind of in the moment and excited to play some football tomorrow, but just enjoying the process of experiencing new things with the guys.”
This also will be a challenge, Kelce acknowledged. The team flew 12 hours to get to the southeast region of Brazil and will be kicking off less than 48 hours after landing.
Still, Kelce said he was looking forward to playing in the standalone game, which will be available to view on YouTube.
“I love when the lights are bright,” Kelce said. “And I’ve heard nothing but great things about the Brazilian fan base and how they love sports.”
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)
