How Travis Kelce Made History at Chiefs vs. Raiders Game

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Travis Kelce’s legacy is headed to new heights. 

The Kansas City Chiefs player recently achieved a significant milestone, becoming only the third tight end in NFL history to surpass 13,000 receiving yards. He joins legends Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez as the only other tight ends to ever reach this level of achievement.

Travis had a career highlight when he caught a five-yard pass from Shane Buechele, who stepped in for the injured Patrick Mahomes during the January 4th game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Although Mahomes couldn’t celebrate with him on the field due to his ACL injury, he made sure to acknowledge Travis’s achievement.

As he wrote on X alongside a strong arm emoji, “13K!”

With Travis potentially retiring soon, this recent accomplishment might be his last as a player. He recently explained that the Chiefs’ season-ending loss to the Raiders, and how the team performed overall in 2025, will likely be the deciding factor in his decision to retire.

After the game on January 4th, Travis said he wasn’t sure how long his recovery would take. He explained it would either be a quick process or require more time. He added that last year’s recovery felt simpler because he immediately knew he wanted to try to recover, and he’ll see how things go this time around.

This isn’t the first time the NFL star has hinted at retirement. After his team lost on Christmas Day to the Denver Broncos, Travis Kelce talked about wanting to create opportunities for the next generation of players.

After the Chiefs’ defeat, he noted the immense visibility the team and its younger players have, telling reporters, “Everyone is watching you.” He added that playing on national television gives those young players a valuable first experience of what life in the NFL is like.

When the time comes to decide how he’ll celebrate a new chapter, Travis – who proposed to Taylor Swift in August – said he’ll make that decision together with his family, friends, and the Chiefs organization.

For more of Travis’ personal and professional highlights, keep reading… 

Although Travis Kelce is now strongly associated with Kansas City, Missouri, he was actually raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

I’ve noticed something really cool about this guy – he always proudly yells out his hometown when they announce players during the games, instead of mentioning the University of Cincinnati where he went to school. It’s a neat way to show where he comes from, and I appreciate that little detail!

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

Travis Kelce explained that while he deeply values his time at the University of Cincinnati, it wasn’t always easy. Speaking in 2019 at his Cleveland Heights High School Hall of Fame induction with his brother Jason, he admitted he faced challenges, including losing his scholarship due to some poor choices. He jokingly acknowledged that he was likely the ‘Heights kid’ everyone knew who’d made mistakes.

He explained that Cleveland Heights wasn’t just meaningful to him personally, but to everyone in the community. He emphasized the city’s diversity and how it inspires him. He said everything he does is dedicated to Cleveland Heights, and even his celebratory moments – like dancing after scoring – are a tribute to the city and its people. He admitted it might sound like a familiar sentiment, but assured everyone it was genuinely true.

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 occurred after he overindulged while celebrating New Year’s Eve in New Orleans.

He didn’t just miss the bowl game; the NCAA suspended him for the entire 2010 season and he lost his athletic 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, calling people to get 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—hockey, baseball, and basketball—before focusing on football, where he played quarterback. He was initially recruited to Cincinnati as a two-star quarterback, but switched to tight end after being suspended from the team; the position change was a requirement for his return.

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

I’ll never forget reading his interview with GQ back in 2017. He was talking about that tough time, and he put it so perfectly – he said that people had been telling him his whole life he was naturally suited to be a tight end. It really stuck with me, that feeling of being steered towards a path people already envisioned for you.

Travis often hung out at the house on 127 W. Nixon Street, where he lived with Jason and other members of the Bearcats team, and they frequently had fun, often involving beer.

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 told reporters how much Cincinnati means to him. He’s very proud of his time at the University of Cincinnati, where he recently earned his degree, and enjoys giving back whenever possible. He often visits the university and cherishes the relationships he built with his teammates and the people who supported him through everything.

Even while facing scrutiny from the NCAA, he explained that the players, coaches, and staff at the university had faith in him and believed he could improve. He said their support meant a lot to him then.

Okay, so like, it’s been almost ten years since Travis left college to go pro, which is insane to think about! But he finally finished his degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2022! And get this – he didn’t actually get his diploma until April 2024! They threw him a surprise graduation ceremony right after he and Jason finished recording a live episode of New Heights at the arena in Cincinnati! It was so perfect, I was practically screaming! Seriously, how awesome is that? He’s just the best.

As the graduate walked up to the dean for a congratulatory handshake, he was already holding a beer and immediately drank it down after shaking hands.

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

Travis Kelce wasn’t the first tight end drafted in 2013 – some off-field concerns caused him to be picked fifth, in the third round by the Kansas City Chiefs. Once he joined the team, head coach Andy Reid, who had previously worked with Travis’s brother Jason in Philadelphia, asked Jason to give him a positive assessment of Travis.

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 changed.

Growing up on the east side of Cleveland, this song always makes me think about my family and how grateful I am for my life, he explained on the 2017 NBC Sports podcast, PFT Live.

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.”

Let me tell you, the news about Travis and Jason’s dad, Ed Kelce, really came out of left field! It started when Chris Jones, Travis’ teammate, casually mentioned it on Inside the NFL back in January – he even said, “Fking crazy, right?” – and then the Kelce brothers themselves addressed it on their New Heights podcast, actually talking to their dad about it! It was a pretty candid moment, and definitely a surprise for a lot of us fans.

Jason was confused. “Why did you suddenly change your name? And why did we all think it was ‘Kel-see’ for so long—27 years for me, 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 that the story of his family’s NFL success – having both him and his brother Jason play professionally – began with his birth in 1987, just before the 2023 Super Bowl where his Chiefs faced Jason’s 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 functional electric vehicles.

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

I remember when that statistic came out – it really resonated with us fans! We all started calling ourselves the “92 percenters” – it felt like an inside joke, a little way to connect and show we were all on the same page. The podcast described it perfectly – it wasn’t just a number, it was like our own special code!

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 exercise.

According to an interview with the New York Times in April, the trainer said they were doing sprint workouts on the bridges over the river at midnight. He emphasized that no matter the location, this person always makes time to complete what’s necessary.

Travis has known his personal chef, Kumar Ferguson, since they were kids growing up 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 recounted to Vanity Fair in 2023 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 all sorts of tasks, from refilling Travis’ refrigerator to making sure the Chiefs players get nutritious meals at practice.

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

In April 2024, Travis signed a two-year contract worth $34.25 million, making him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end – a first for 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 raise. He said whenever he mentions wanting to earn more, they tell him to ask the Kansas City Chiefs for a pay increase.

By that point, he had found other ways to make money, so he prioritized enjoying his work over earning a large salary.

He said the idea of a free market seems appealing until you experience losing. He emphasized his strong desire to win and expressed contentment with his current position.

It’s tough seeing other players earn so much money – it definitely stings a little, he confessed. It makes you wonder if you’re being fairly compensated. He wasn’t sure if pushing harder would actually get him the salary he deserves, but he genuinely loves going to work every day.

Travis developed a passion for clothing at a young age while growing up in Cleveland Heights. He described his high school as a daily “fashion show” in a 2023 interview with Vanity Fair.

He transformed a bedroom into a walk-in closet to store his expensive clothes and impressive sneaker collection—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 Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez, the amazing baseball player 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 connect people, and that’s what he and Jason value most about it—good times with friends and family.

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 said, “It’s awesome.”

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

After 12 seasons in the NFL, 35-year-old Travis Kelce has recently been more vocal about the physical challenges of playing football.

From the very beginning of his career, he’s consistently faced tough challenges. It started when a knee injury—a small fracture—forced him to miss his first season and led to a decade of needing ten surgeries.

Travis Kelce recently shared on the New Heights podcast 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 he felt fortunate she contacted him.

Travis has always loved French toast, especially when it’s topped with whipped cream and syrup.

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.

He told WSJ. Magazine that he wants to share his love of comedians like Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, and Will Ferrell with Taylor. He explained, “I told her, ‘This is what I’m really into.'”

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

Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach described Travis Kelce as a huge boost to the team’s energy in a 2020 interview with ESPN. It’s difficult to measure exactly how valuable that is, but Kelce’s positive attitude and enthusiasm are contagious. Everyone in the Chiefs organization enjoys being around him, and he has a knack for lifting the spirits, improving focus, and making things fun for the whole team.

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

When asked about them again a few months later, he surprisingly said he loved them all, truly every single one.

He publicly stated in August 2025 that his favorite song from The Life of a Show Girl is “Opalite.”

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 started seriously discussing whether Travis would exceed Tony’s accomplishments—and how letdown everyone would be if he didn’t—Travis claimed he ignored all the talk.

I’m my own harshest critic,” he explained to Complex. “I’m aiming for a record-breaking season – I want to be the most productive tight end statistically that’s ever played the game.”

In 2024, Travis became the Kansas City Chiefs’ all-time leader in receptions, breaking the previous record with his 917th catch.

Travis recently reflected on how things often come back around, sharing on the New Heights podcast that it’s amazing to be succeeding with the Kansas City Chiefs, a team with such a long and storied history dating back to the 1960s. He emphasized the Chiefs’ enduring success is thanks to their deep roots and the influence of players like Tony Gonzalez, whom Travis 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.”

But perhaps hosting a special someone served as extra motivation to get it together.

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

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2026-01-05 16:49