Why Travis Kelce Was Fined $14,491 During Kansas City Chiefs Game

by

Travis Kelce is gonna want to shake this off.

As a lifestyle expert, I’m always talking about maintaining composure, and unfortunately, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce recently learned a lesson about that! He received a $14,491 fine from the NFL after making inappropriate gestures during their game against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 14th. It just goes to show, even our heroes need to remember to keep things classy on and off the field!

The situation occurred after Kelce caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes and then made an inappropriate gesture towards the Eagles’ sideline, which was captured in videos posted online.

The 35-year-old player repeatedly drew attention for his behavior during the game. In one instance, during the second quarter, he angrily threw his helmet to the ground after removing it. Broadcast cameras captured him shouting, and he appeared to say, “I’m sick of this.”

The Eagles won against the Chiefs with a final score of 20-17, but the game resulted in fines for both teams. Travis Kelce received a fine, and Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was penalized $46,371 for leading with his helmet when he hit Chiefs defensive back Chamarri Conner.

This isn’t the first time Travis has been fined. Last season, during the AFC Championship game against the Buffalo Bills, he received a $11,255 penalty for taunting Damar Hamlin.

Although he’s made some mistakes in the past, the host of the *New Heights* podcast has always been willing to admit when he’s wrong on the field.

During the Chiefs’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers on September 5th, Travis Kelce accidentally collided with teammate Xavier Worthy, resulting in a shoulder injury. Kelce immediately accepted responsibility for the incident.

He told his brother, Jason Kelce, on their podcast that he felt terrible and could hardly play after what happened. He admitted he owes someone a huge debt and that person, X, is aware of it.

He said he needs to improve his performance. After 13 seasons in the league, he knows there’s no reason for mistakes like running into his teammates and not being able to play at his best to help the team.

Keep reading for more about Kelce…

Although Travis Kelce is now famously associated with Kansas City, Missouri, he actually spent his childhood growing up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

During game broadcasts where players are introduced, the announcer proudly calls out his hometown rather than his college, the University of Cincinnati.

Which, as you might guess, has irked some fellow alums. 

Look, I really do appreciate my time at the University of Cincinnati – I truly cherish those years. But honestly, it wasn’t always easy. I went through some tough times there, even lost my scholarship for a while. I definitely made some mistakes – probably like a lot of us did back in high school! I was a bit of a wild card, and I’m sure many of you who know people from Cleveland Heights High can relate – I was *that* guy.

He explained that Cleveland Heights wasn’t just meaningful to him personally, but to everyone in the community. He highlighted the city’s diversity and how it inspires him. He emphasized that everything he does is motivated by his dedication to Cleveland Heights, and even his celebrations – like dancing after scoring – are a tribute to the city and its people.

2. About that revoked scholarship…

Following Cincinnati’s perfect 2009 season and Big East championship, Travis tested positive for marijuana before the 2010 Sugar Bowl. This happened after he partied excessively on New Year’s Eve while in New Orleans.

He didn’t just miss the bowl game; the NCAA suspended him for the entire 2010 season, and he lost his scholarship. This left him without housing or meals, so he moved in with his brother Jason – sharing Jason’s room with his teammates – and took a job as a telemarketer. His job involved calling people to ask for their opinions on the Affordable Care Act.

They did, and Travis could not wait to get back on the field.

Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school, playing hockey, baseball, and basketball before focusing on football. He originally played quarterback and was a two-star recruit for Cincinnati, but switched to tight end after being suspended from the team – it was a requirement for him to rejoin the team.

When I was drafted by the Chiefs in 2013, we already had a great quarterback in Zach Collaros, but we were looking to improve both our running and passing offenses,” Travis explained to Arrowhead Pride. “I spoke with my then-coach, Butch Jones, and he felt a tight end was what we needed. Luckily, my abilities and athleticism were a good fit, and it all worked out perfectly for me.

As he explained to GQ magazine in 2017, reflecting on a difficult time, he’d always been told he was better suited to playing tight end.

Travis and his teammates, including Jason, often had lively, beer-filled gatherings at the house on 127 W. Nixon Street.

According to college friend and teammate Tom DeTemple, the brothers would spend hours playing Nintendo 64, often combining it with drinking games. He told the New York Times before the 2024 Super Bowl that they’d invent these games on the spot and were surprisingly skilled at them.

5. And suffice it to say, Travis is extremely proud of being a Bearcat.

Before the 2023 Super Bowl, the quarterback expressed his strong connection to Cincinnati, telling reporters how proud he is of his time at the University of Cincinnati. He recently earned his degree and makes an effort to support the university whenever possible, enjoying visits and reconnecting with former teammates and friends who have supported him through everything.

Honestly, even when things looked really bad with the NCAA, what meant the most to me was the faith people at the university had in me. The players, coaches, and staff genuinely believed I could turn things around and improve my situation, and that support was absolutely huge for me then. It gave me so much strength.

After nearly ten years away from school to pursue a career in the NFL, Travis completed his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2022. He didn’t receive his diploma until April 2024, when he was surprised with a special graduation ceremony following a live taping of the New Heights podcast with his brother Jason at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati.

As the graduate went to shake the dean’s hand in congratulations, he was already holding a beer and immediately drank it down.

And Travis was going to graduate in 2022 but he missed his flight.

Travis Kelce wasn’t one of the first tight ends drafted in 2013, largely because of some personal issues. He was picked fifth at the position, going to the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round. Once Travis joined the Chiefs, head coach Andy Reid – who had previously coached Travis’s brother, Jason, in Philadelphia – asked Jason to give him a positive assessment of Travis’s character.

Andy and Travis have three Super Bowl rings to show for Jason’s endorsement.

Travis used to listen to Randy Newman’s song “Burn On” before every game for years, though his pre-game music choices have since evolved.

As someone who grew up on the east side of Cleveland, this song just always hits me. I can’t really explain it, but it instantly makes me think about my family, where I am in my life right now, and how grateful I am for everything. I shared that on the *PFT Live* podcast back in 2017 because it’s just a really personal connection for me.

Let us explain: It’s in the opening credits of Major League, the ultimate Cleveland sports movie.

9. Everyone, including Travis, is mispronouncing his last name.

Everyone’s been pronouncing Kelce as “Kel-see,” but the correct pronunciation actually rhymes with “else.”

The news came out when Chris Jones, Travis’ teammate, mentioned it on *Inside the NFL* in January, saying, “It’s just crazy, right?” Travis and his brother Jason later confirmed the story when they talked to their dad, Ed Kelce, on their *New Heights* podcast.

Jason was confused. “Why the sudden name change? And why did we all think our name was Kel-see for so long – for 27 years for me, and 25 for Trav?”

Ed admitted he “got tired of correcting people” but urged his son to “do whatever you want.”

Travis has worn the number 87 throughout his NFL career to honor his brother Jason, who was born in 1987.

Travis Kelce shared with NFL Films before the 2023 Super Bowl that the family’s NFL story – with both him and his brother Jason playing professionally – began in 1987, the year he was born. He was referencing the start of what would become a legacy for the Kelce family, as he and his brother Jason faced off with their respective teams, the Chiefs and the Eagles.

Travis Kelce’s Eighty Seven & Running foundation has consistently supported Operation Breakthrough, a Kansas City nonprofit learning center. He first volunteered there in 2015, reading *The Cat in the Hat* to the children, and has been involved ever since.

Yes, reader, he wore the hat.

Since then, Travis has supported the program by investing in their Smart Lab and purchasing the building next door. This allowed them to create the Ignition Lab, where students transformed old, discarded cars into functioning electric vehicles.

Travis and Jason refer to their podcast audience as “92 percenters.” This nickname comes from a joke Jason made about a football play called a quarterback sneak, which he claimed was successful 92% of the time when a team only needs to gain one yard for a touchdown.

Listeners of the podcast really loved a particular statistic, and playfully started calling themselves the “92 percenters.” The podcast’s website described it as a shared inside joke among fans.

Who were the Kelce brothers to argue with that?

Travis Kelce works with three trainers – Alex Skacel, Andrew Spruill, and Laurence Justin Ng – and typically has one of them travel with him to help him stay in peak condition for football year-round, according to The Athletic.

Alex, a physical therapist, remembered Travis wanting to go for a run late at night after Paris Fashion Week. Travis had skipped his usual workout that day and felt the need to be active.

The trainer explained to the *New York Times* in April that they were doing sprint workouts on the bridges above the river at midnight. He added that no matter where his athlete is, he always makes time to complete what’s necessary.

Travis has a personal chef named Kumar Ferguson, and they’ve been friends since they were kids growing up together in Cleveland Heights.

In 2016, he was driving a truck and enjoyed cooking as a hobby when Travis contacted him with a job offer.

Kumar recalled that the person said, ‘I really want to commit to a healthier diet and take it to the next level.’ Kumar responded that he immediately agreed, and just a few days later, he found himself in Kansas City.

He handles a wide range of tasks, including everything from keeping Travis’ fridge full to making sure the Chiefs players get nutritious lunches at practice.

Travis Kelce has been getting a lot of attention for his facial hair lately. He shared on his podcast, *New Heights*, that he shaved his beard after the season in 2023 but kept his mustache to copy the look favored by his coach, Andy Reid – a look he’s continuing in 2024.

In April 2024, Travis signed a two-year contract worth $34.25 million, making him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end for the first time in his career.

Which finally put an end to years of chatter about how much money he wasn’t making.

In a 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, Travis Kelce joked that his managers and agents often point out he deserves a higher salary. He said whenever he brings up wanting to earn more, they suggest he ask the Kansas City Chiefs for a raise.

By that point, he had so many other ways to earn money that he was more interested in enjoying his work than in how much it paid.

He said the idea of a free market seems good until you experience losing. He emphasized his enjoyment of success and satisfaction with his current position.

It’s tough seeing other players earn so much money – it definitely makes you question things,” he said. “You start to wonder if you’re being fairly compensated, and whether pushing harder would actually result in the pay you deserve. But despite everything, I genuinely enjoy going to work every day.

Travis developed a passion for clothing early on, growing up in Cleveland Heights. He described his high school as a daily fashion show, according to a 2023 interview with *Vanity Fair*.

He transformed a bedroom into a walk-in closet to store his expensive clothes and impressive sneaker collection of over 300 pairs. He even splurged on a pair of size-13 Nike Air Mags with a significant part of his first professional salary, even though they didn’t quite fit.

He told the Wall Street Journal that early in his career, before sneaker apps were common, he’d just buy whatever size of shoe he could find that he liked.

He’s a big fan of Nike, especially since they sponsor him, but he also loves Chuck Taylor sneakers. They remind him of the iconic baseball player Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez from the movie *The Sandlot*.

18. Among his dozens of investments, Travis co-owns Ohio-brewed Garage Beer with Jason.

Travis shared in a statement last June that he enjoys a beer from time to time, so he’s thrilled to be an owner of Garage Beer and help create a great light beer. He believes there’s nothing quite like a cold beer to bring people together, and for him and his partner, Jason, that’s what beer is all about: enjoying time with friends, family, and having fun.

19. We’re sensing a theme when it comes to Travis’ guilty pleasure TV choices.

He reminisced about the show *Gossip Girl*, describing it on the *New Heights* podcast as a classic New York high school drama filled with gossip and people talking negatively about each other. He simply called it “awesome.”

His new favorite show? Peacock’s Emmy-winning backstab-a-ganza The Traitors.

After playing in the NFL for 12 seasons, 35-year-old Travis has recently been sharing more about the physical challenges of the sport.

He’s quietly endured a lot of physical hardship from the start of his career. It began when a knee injury-a small fracture-forced him to miss his first season and led to a decade of ten surgeries.

Travis Kelce recently shared on his podcast, *New Heights*, that he tried to give Taylor Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it while she was performing in Kansas City, but wasn’t able to.

She heard through mutual connections that Travis wanted to meet her, and then she reached out to him.

He told *WSJ. Magazine* that she explained the whole situation to him, and how fortunate he was that she contacted him.

Let me tell you, one dessert Travis has *always* loved – seriously, since he was a little kid – is French toast. But it’s not just any French toast; he piles it high with whipped cream and all sorts of delicious syrups. It’s a classic comfort food for him!

But more recently he’s become a fan of his girlfriend’s homemade Pop-Tarts and cinnamon rolls.

23. At least one of Travis’ ringtones is Chris Farley shrieking “For the love of God!” in Tommy Boy.

You know, when I first met Taylor, I really wanted to share something special with her – my love for classic comedy! I told her about guys like Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell, who always crack me up. I basically said, ‘This is *my* kind of humor, and I think you’ll love it too!’ It’s important to share those things that really make you, *you*, with the people you care about, don’t you think?

After the Chiefs won the AFC Championship in 2019, Travis Kelce shouted “You’ve got to fight for your right to party!” This inspired the team to play the Beastie Boys’ song of the same name after every touchdown scored at home games at Arrowhead Stadium.

Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach described Travis Kelce as a huge boost to team morale, saying in 2020 that it’s difficult to overstate his impact. Kelce brings a positive energy, charisma, and passion that lifts everyone around him. He’s well-liked by the entire team and consistently improves the mood, focus, and performance of his teammates, all while keeping things enjoyable.

The person who famously introduced the 1986 song to everyone surprisingly didn’t learn all the lyrics until he had to sing it with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in February 2023.

In May 2024, Travis revealed his three favorite Taylor Swift songs: “Blank Space,” “The Alchemy,” and “So High School.”

When asked about it in September, he’d changed his answer to say he loved them all-absolutely every single one.

People began comparing Travis Kelce to Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs’ all-time great tight end who retired in 2013 after 17 seasons, very early in Kelce’s career.

Back in 2015, as people began to wonder if Travis would be as successful as Tony, and how letdown fans would be if he wasn’t, Travis claimed he didn’t listen to the speculation.

I’m my own harshest critic,” he explained to *Complex*. “I’m aiming for a record-breaking season – I want to have the best statistical year any tight end has ever had.”

Oh my gosh, you guys, 2024 was HUGE! Travis finally did it – he officially became the Chiefs’ all-time reception king! It was his 917th catch, and honestly, I was screaming! He passed Tony, which is incredible, and it just proves he’s the best to ever do it for the Chiefs, period. I’ve been following him forever, and witnessing that record was everything!

Travis recently shared on the *New Heights* podcast how things often come back around. He pointed out that being a leader on the Kansas City Chiefs – a team with roots going back to the 1960s – feels special because they’re one of the original franchises still succeeding at a high level. He attributes much of their success to the team’s history and the influence of players like Tony Gonzalez, who he considers a mentor and deeply admires.

27. Of Travis’ many accomplishments, keeping his house in order on his own isn’t one of them.

“He can’t clean,” mom Donna Kelce told Extra in September 2024. “He can’t cook.”

Maybe having a visitor gave him the extra push he needed to get things organized.

“He’s getting a little better,” Donna acknowledged. “I think he’s getting some help.”

Read More

2025-09-22 16:49