Travis Kelce has addressed rumors and speculation about his future in the NFL by insisting he has no plans to step away from football just yet.
The Kansas City Chiefs star is bidding to reach his fourth Super Bowl in five years in the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and is back in form after some vital contributions to their victory over the Buffalo Bills.
The 34-year-old scored two touchdowns from quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ passes in front of his girlfriend Taylor Swift, and their relationship has been the talk of the town in Kansas City.
Kelce has been dogged by questions about his career and personal life due to the increased media attention after he began dating singer Swift, also 34, in September.
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Now into his 11th season, there had been questions as to whether the tight end still had the burning motivation to step out onto the field and if it might be time to wrap up his career.
However, in a bonus video of the ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, who plays center for the Philadelphia Eagles, he insisted that the buzz he gets from featuring in playoff games still gets him “f***ing excited”.
“I haven’t found something outside of football that’s going to challenge me like playoff football. And I don’t know if I’ll ever find that,” Travis said.
“And that’s one of the things that’ll make me play this game until the wheels fall off. I know that I get to accept these challenges and these difficult games, these difficult matchups, the question of whether or not we’ll prevail – and coming up big for the guys next to me.
“It’s an energy and an excitement that I haven’t found anywhere else in the world, and it’s something that I definitely cherish.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship
It’s clear that during her downtime from the Eras Tour, Swift has found some solace in watching her other half take the starring role on the football field from the VIP suite.
Swift has been arguably the Chiefs’ biggest cheerleader, following them all around the U.S. to catch a glimpse of her beau in action with her appearances in the stands now into double figures.
That may change when she returns to the stage to resume the tour in February. But it seems that even with the distance between their homes in Kansas City and New York respectively, Swift and Kelce have managed to keep their romance alive.
And for now, there doesn’t appear to be much desire from Kelce to hang up his cleats to focus on the celebrity-led lifestyle that Swift has inherited as a result of her popularity.
