Travis Kelce is reaching new heights.
Shortly after the news that the Kansas City Chiefs would be leaving Missouri in 2031it was revealed that the team’s tight end led all players in fan votes for the 2026 Pro Bowl Gamesmaking it the second year in a row Travis picked up the honor.
The 36-year-old beat out many of his fellow NFL playersincluding Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allenwho came in second. New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye took third placewhile Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams and Kevin Byard rounded out the top five.
With the victoryTravis officially joined the AFC/NFC roster for the Pro Bowl Gamesa friendly flag football match between the two main conferences of the NFL. The game will air live on Feb. 3 from the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Chiefs celebrated Travis’ win on X Dec. 23noting the Super Bowl champion—who is currently engaged to Taylor Swift—topped the listadding in a message to supporters“Thank youChiefs Kingdom.”
But Travis isn’t the only Chiefs player to be taking part in the Pro Bowl next year. He’ll be joined by offensive guard Trey Smithcenter Creed Humphrey and defensive tackle Chris Jones on the AFC/NFC roster.
The exciting news comes after the Chief announced that they would be leaving Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas CityMo.for a new home turf in Wyandotte CountyKan.starting in 2031.
“Todaywe are excited to take another momentous step for the future of the franchise,” the team’s CEO Clark Hunt said in a Dec. 21 statement. "We have entered into an agreement with the State of Kansas to host Chiefs football beginning with the 2031 NFL season. In the years aheadwe look forward to designing and building a state-of-the-art domed stadium and mixed-use district in Wyandotte County.”
And while the Chiefs are thrilled about the “benefit to the entire region” with the team’s moveClark added that the team will always be grateful to their fans in Missouri for all their support over the years.
“Arrowhead reminds me of family memories and unforgettable moments,” he shared. “But the truth iswhat makes Chiefs game days so special is you. Seats don’t make noiseconcrete doesn’t intimate opponentsparking lots don’t cook barbecue. You do.”
For a deep dive into more about Travis and his NFL careerkeep reading.
1. Travis Kelce may be inextricably linked to Kansas CityMo.for lifebut he grew up in Cleveland HeightsOhio.
And the man representsshouting out his hometown instead of his alma materUniversity of Cincinnatiduring game broadcasts that include player introductions.
Whichas you might guesshas irked some fellow alums.
"It’s not because I don’t appreciate the time I had at the University of Cincinnatibecause I doI cherish it dearly," Travis said in 2019 when he and big brother Jason Kelce were inducted into the Cleveland Heights High School Hall of Fame. "But there was a time when I was at Cincinnati that it wasn't easy for me. It was tough. I got my scholarship taken from me. I did a lot of dumb things. I'm sure a lot of people in this room know someone from Heights that's done a lot of dumb things. To all my friendsI was that guy."
And the Heights weren't just special to himhe continuedbut "to every single person up here. How diverse this place is. It builds something in me. Every single thing I do is for this city. It sounds clichebut I promise youevery single thing I do out there — when you see me dancing in the end zonethat’s Cleveland Heightsfor youright there."
2. About that revoked scholarship...
After the Bearcats' undefeated 2009 season that included a Big East titleTravis failed a marijuana test ahead of the 2010 Sugar Bowl after partying too hard on New Year's Eve in New Orleans.
Not only did he miss the bowl gamethe NCAA suspended him for the 2010 season and he lost his scholarship. Finding himself without room and boardhe moved in with Jason (literally into his brother's room in the house he shared with some teammates) and took a job as a telemarketer that entailed him asking anyone who picked up if they had thoughts about the Affordable Care Act.
They didand Travis could not wait to get back on the field.
3. Travis played hockeybaseball and basketball before getting into footballand he was a quarterback in high school. In facthe was a two-star QB recruit for Cincinnatiand only ended up switching to tight end as a condition of his reinstatement to the team after his suspension.
"We had an awesome quarterback at the time in Zach Collaros and we needed some help in the run game as well as the passing game," Travis told Arrowhead Pride after he was drafted by the Chiefs in 2013"so I talked to coach Butch Joneswho was my coach at the timeand he said we need a tight end and my skill-setathleticism and my direction all transferred over and it worked out perfect for me."
Oras he put it to GQ in 2017 while rehashing his un-shining moment"Everybody my entire life had been telling me I was a tight end anyway."
4. The house at 127 W. Nixon St. where Travis bunked with Jason and some fellow Bearcats was the scene of a lot of beer-infused shenanigans.
The brothers "used to love playing Nintendo 64 for hourssmashing the controls and chugging beers at the same time," college friend and teammate Tom DeTemple told the New York Times before the 2024 Super Bowl. "They would just come up with these random drinking games while playingand they were incredibly good at it."
5. And suffice it to sayTravis is extremely proud of being a Bearcat.
"It's all about Cincinnatibaby," he told reporters before the 2023 Super Bowlwhich the Chiefs got to by beating the Bengals in the AFC Championship Game. "I've always been extremely prideful of coming from the University of Cincinnati. I finally got my diploma. I try to help out as much as I can. I go back to the university when I can. I just miss being around all those players that I played withand all the people I met along the way there that have always been in my corner throughout the ups and downs of life."
And when he was down in the eyes of the NCAAhe continued"The playersthe coachesthe staff that was at the university at the time—really believed in me to be able to turn things around and do better for myself. That was huge for me at the time."
6. Almost a decade after leaving college to enter the draftTravis earned his degree in interdisciplinary studies in 2022—but didn't pick up his diploma until April 2024 during a surprise commencement ceremony after he and Jason taped a live episode of New Heights at Cincinnati's Fifth Third Arena.
The graduate was already holding a can of beer as he approached the dean for his congratulatory handshakeafter which he promptly chugged it.
And Travis was going to graduate in 2022 but he missed his flight.
7. Largely due to his off-the-field issueTravis ended up only the fifth tight end picked in the 2013 NFL Draftgoing first in the third round to the Chiefs. After which coach Andy Reidwho'd previously coached Jason in Philadelphiaasked the elder Kelce sibling to vouch for Travis.
Andy and Travis have three Super Bowl rings to show for Jason's endorsement.
8. His hype music may have changed sincebut for years Travis listened to Randy Newman's "Burn On" before every game.
"I'm an east side of Cleveland kid so growing upI don't know whybut this song brings me back to thinking about family and thinking about where I am in life and how much I appreciate it," he said on the NBC Sports podcast PFT Live in 2017.
Let us explain: It's in the opening credits of Major Leaguethe ultimate Cleveland sports movie.
9. Everyoneincluding Travisis mispronouncing his last name.
While he and Jason have just gone with Kelce sounding like "Kel-see," it actually rhymes with "else."
Travis' teammate Chris Jones fired off that bombshell on Inside the NFL in January—"F--king crazyright?"—and the brothers confirmed as much when they confronted their dad Ed Kelce about it on their New Heights podcast.
"Why in the world did you change your name out of nowhere and now we are Kel-see?" Jason asked. "Why did we think that our name was Kel-see for the first 24 years... 27 years of my life25 of Trav's?"
Ed admitted he "got tired of correcting people" but urged his son to "do whatever you want."
10. The No. 87 Travis has worn throughout his time in the NFL is a tribute to Jasonwho was born in 1987.
"If there is a Kelce legacytwo brothers making it to the NFLit all started in 1987because this big guy was born in 1987," Travis explained to NFL Films ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl featuring his Chiefs squaring off against Jason's Philadelphia Eagles.
11. Travis' foundation 87 and Running has been a longtime benefactor of Operation Breakthrougha nonprofit learning center in Kansas City that the athlete has worked with since his first visit in 2015 to read The Cat in the Hat to the kids.
Yesreaderhe wore the hat.
Since thenTravis has invested in the program's Smart Lab and bought the former muffler shop next door so they could expand and create their Ignition Labwhere the young scholars converted old cars that could've ended up on the scrap heap into working electric vehicles.
12. Travis and Jason call their New Heights listeners "92 percenters" in reference to Jason once commenting that a play known as a quarterback sneak worked "92 percent of the time" when all you need is one yard to score a touchdown.
Fans were apparently quite tickled and basically christened themselves the "92 percenters," according to the podcast's websitewhich likened it to "their secret handshakebut in words."
Who were the Kelce brothers to argue with that?
13. Travis has three personal trainers—Alex SkacelAndrew Spruill and Laurence Justin Ng—andaccording to The Athleticone usually travels with him wherever he goes to ensure he remains in football-catching shape all year round.
Alexwho's also a physical therapistrecalled Travis wanting to go for a late night run after taking in a slate full of shows during Paris Fashion Week because he missed working out that day.
"It's midnightand we're doing sprints over the bridges over the river," the trainer told the New York Times in April. "No matter where he ishe finds time to get done whatever he needs to get done."
14. Travis' personal chefKumar Fergusonhas been a friend since the fourth grade in Cleveland Heights.
He was an amateur cook working as a truck driver in 2016 when Travis called him up and offered him the opportunity.
"He's like'Hey manI want to take my diet seriouslyand take it to the next level,'" Kumar told Vanity Fair in 2023. "I'm likes--tlet's do it. Three or four days laterI was in Kansas City."
He's been responsible for everything from stocking Travis' fridge to delivering well-balanced lunches to the Chiefs' training facility.
15. Travis' facial hair is under the microscope more than ever nowso he explained on New Heights that he shaved his off-season beard and kept the 'stache in 2023 as an homage to the walrus look favored by Andy Reid and decided to repeat in 2024.
16. The $34.25 million two-year contract Travis signed in April 2024 made him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL for the first time in his career.
Which finally put an end to years of chatter about how much money he wasn't making.
"My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am," Travis quipped to Vanity Fair in 2023. "Any time I talk about wanting more moneythey're just like'Why don't you go to the Chiefs and ask them?'"
But by thenwith many other sources of income having opened up for himhe cared more about the vibes than the paycheck.
"I'm likethe free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win," he explained. "I love winning. I love the situation I'm in."
Seeing other players' huge paydays "hits you in the gut a little bit," he admitted. "It makes you think you’re being taken advantage of. I don't know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth. But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day."
17. Travis has been into clothes since growing up in Cleveland Heightswhere his high school "was like a fashion show every day," he told Vanity Fair in 2023.
Hence the bedroom he converted into a closetthe better to house his designer threads and more than 300 pairs of sneakers—including a pair of size-13 Nike Air Mags that he spent a sizable portion of his rookie year salary on despite them being a size too small.
"Earlier on in my careerwhen they didn't have all these sneaker apps," he explained to the Wall Street Journal"it was whatever size I could get in the shoe that I wanted."
While he's very much a Nike guy (and not just because the brand sponsors him)Chuck Taylors also hold a space in his heart because they remind him of fictional baseball phenom Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez in The Sandlot.
18. Among his dozens of investmentsTravis co-owns Ohio-brewed Garage Beer with Jason.
"I think everyone knows I like to have a couple beers now and then," Travis said in a June statement"so being an owner of Garage Beer and heavily involved in making the best light beer is excitingman! There is nothing better to bring people together than an ice-cold beerand for Jason and me that is what beer is all about—friendsfamily and fun."
19. We're sensing a theme when it comes to Travis' guilty pleasure TV choices.
Back in the dayit was Gossip Girl: "I meanit's awesome," he said on New Heights. "It like a New York high school show with a lot of drama and basically everybody gossiping and talking s--t on each other."
His new favorite show? Peacock's Emmy-winning backstab-a-ganza The Traitors.
20. In his 12th year in the NFL at 35Travis has been more open of late about the toll the game takes on the body.
But he's been stoically getting hammered since day onewhen he missed his rookie year with a microfracture in his knee that required the first of the 10 surgeries he's had in his career.
21. Travis put it out theretalking on New Heights about his thwarted attempt to give Taylor Swift a friendship bracelet with his number on it when the Eras Tour touched down in Kansas City.
And after hearing through the grapevine (people in her camp who knew who Travis was and that he wanted to meet her)she contacted him.
"She told me exactly what was going on," he told WSJ. Magazine, "and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out to me."
22. One of Travis' favorite desserts since forever is French toast topped with whipped cream and syrups.
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.
"I told Taylor that I have that worldI've got to introduce it to her," he told WSJ. The Magazine of sharing his affinity for the comedy stylings of FarleyAdam Sandler and Will Ferrell with his girlfriend. "I let her know: This is my jam right here."
24. After screaming "You've got to fight for your right to party!" after their AFC Championship win over the Bengals in 2019Travis inspired the Chiefs to start playing the Beastie Boys song of the same name following every home game touchdown at Arrowhead Stadium.
"It's like an energy multiplier. That's hard to quantify just how important that is," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach told ESPN in 2020. "He plays with that kind of charactercharismapassionand he brings people along with him. In our buildingeverybody is friends with Travis Kelce. He is an ultimate energy giver. He elevates everybody's moodfocusattention and at the end of the dayhe's still fun."
But the boisterous celebrant who brought it into their lives admittedly didn't know all the words to the 1986 classic until he was tasked with performing it with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in February 2023.
25. Speaking of his jamsin May 2024 Travis cited his three favorite Taylor songs as "Blank Space," "The Alchemy" and "So High School."
Asked about it a few months laterhoweverhis answer had changed to"They're all my favorite—literally every single one."
But he's on the record saying in August 2025 that his No. 1 track from The Life of a Show Girl is "Opalite."
26. Comparisons to the Chiefs' legendary tight end Tony Gonzalezwho retired in 2013 after 17 seasons in the leaguestarted early for Travis.
In 2015when the chatter about whether he wouldin factsurpass Tony's achievements—and how disappointing it would be if he didn't—was heating upTravis said he paid the noise no mind.
"Nobody puts bigger expectations on me than myself," he told Complex. "I want to have the greatest season statistically that a tight end has ever had."
In 2024Travis surpassed Tony to become the Chiefs' all-time leader in receptions with his 917th catch.
"It's crazy how things always come full circle," Travis said on New Heights. "Being at the top of the leaderboard with the Kansas City Chiefs who have been around since the '60sone of the beginning organizations that made it all the way through that are still at their peak. And a lot of that is due to the rich history they have and to a guy like Tony Gonzalezwho has been a mentor to me. I f--king love the guy."
27. Of Travis' many accomplishmentskeeping 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."