The Kansas City Chiefs tight end spoke on a host of topics during an interview with ESPN's Pat McAfee.
Travis Kelce's got a lot on his plate. There's the New Heights podcast he co-hosts with his brother, Jason Kelce. He's in a high-profile relationship with one Taylor Swift. And, oh yeah, he's also in the midst of a dynasty with the Kansas City Chiefs.
As Kelce and his teammates prepare to meet the San Francisco 49ers next week in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, there have been some on the outside looking in wondering if the NFL star can compartmentalize all of what's happening around him and how he's been able to navigate it all.
That question was front and center Wednesday when Kelce appeared on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show, where he was asked a myriad of questions, including the hard road to another Super Bowl appearance, whether he anticipated so much attention would be put on his relationship with the Midnights singer, and if he'll attend the GRAMMYs (Swift is nominated for six awards) on Sunday in Los Angeles.
"I had to kind of reel it back in. Everybody in this building knows my intentions," said Kelce when asked about the attention surrounding his life off the field. "Football is is my main focus right now. There's a lot of people counting on me in this building, in the city and this organization. So, this is my number one focus."
"On top of that, it's in my heart to be able to pour everything I got out there on the field," he continued. "There's some perceptions and people can perceive what they want, but I wanted to make sure that the guys -- the men and women in this building -- knew that I was 100 percent focused on this team and getting this team to where we are, where we're going next week. And 100 percent I had to look back, take a step back and really see how I was, you know, portraying myself to the world and just to make sure that everybody knew I was focused, all while still enjoying my life off the field."
It's not the first time Kelce's been questioned about his focus. The topic came up last week ahead of the Chiefs' AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens, and Kelce admitted that, yes, his life's gotten so much attention in the last year since leading the Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory in 2023. He also admitted that he "brought this upon myself," but his biggest priority remains what happens "right here in this building."
Kelce added that everything that's non-football related is "just outside noise."
"It's just outside noise, dealing with everyone else's perspective of things. You hear the media throughout the year if we're not having success, maybe throw it out there that I wasn't focused or that the team isn't focused on certain things," he said. "If you're in this building you know exactly what's going on. So you gotta compartmentalize what you're hearing and make sure that you're staying on task and giving everybody in the building and on that team the right perception when you walk in that building."
And inquiring minds wanted to know, if the intense attention is something he and Swift have talked about.
"The only thing we've talked about is as long as we're happy, we can't listen to anything that's outside noise," Kelce shared. "That's all that matters."
Kelce is on a mission to earn his third Super Bowl ring in his 11th season with the Chiefs, who were victorious in Super Bowl LIV against the 49ers and Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles.
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