Liz Calvario is a Los Angeles-based senior editor for TODAY.com who covers entertainment, pop culture and trending news.
Travis Kelce had to decide the future of his NFL career. So when reflecting about officially returning to the Kansas City Chiefs for his 14th season, he was, in part, motivated by Taylor Swift's career.
The 36-year-old tight end was asked on “The Pat McAfee Show” on March 10 if seeing his fiancée continue to excel and grow in her career inspired him to keep playing the game. Kelce replied, “Without a doubt,” elaborating about how lucky they are to be doing what they love in their respective industries. “We share the same love for what we do, and fortunately we’ve had this desire since we were kids in our selective professions,” Kelce said. “It’s amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies and things like that. And on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.” Kelce added, “Of course that’s motivating.” “That’s motivating for anybody to see, let alone my fiancée, knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out exactly what the future holds for me,” he continued. “Something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what, I’m not done, either.’ I’ve still got some ideas in the back of my mind and still got some juice left to play this game.” Kelce and Swift, who have been dating since 2023, got engaged in August 2025. Their love story is one for the books, with many Swifties excited to see her at her lover’s games. Kelce has played his entire professional football career with the Chiefs, and on March 9 his “New Heights” podcast announced that he isn’t ready to hang up his cleats. The future Hall of Famer has won three Super Bowls with the Chiefs. Last season, however, for the first time since 2014, the Chiefs missed the playoffs. At the time, Kelce fielded questions about his future and possible retirement, saying after a Christmas Day Chiefs loss to the Denver Broncos that it would be a decision he made “with my family, friends, the Chiefs organization when the time comes.” In his interview with Pat McAfee on March 10, Kelce noted that discussions with his team about returning were “pretty short and brief,” adding, “The Chiefs knew where I was the entire time on it.” Sharing more insight about his decision to play another season, he said, “You always need to take a step back, breathe and let the emotions of the season settle down and see where the body is.” And how did he feel? “Man, I’m still in love with this game. I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out and just playing the game,” he said. “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 back,” Kelce continued. “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 them.”
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