Travis Kelce Shares Role Taylor Swift Played in Decision to Return to the NFL for Another Season

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end will be returning to the franchise for another season, despite previous retirement rumors.

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift | Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Travis Kelce recently announced that he’s returning to the Kansas City Chiefs for another season and shared a little about how Taylor Swift’s passion for her own profession played a role in that decision.

The tight end—who got engaged to the pop sensation in August 2025—stopped by The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, March 10, for a quick chat with the titular host. There, he confirmed his plans to join the Missouri franchise, news that may come as a surprise to some fans, given recent rumors he might retire following last season. According to a report from ESPN, Kelce has agreed to a one-year contract with the Chiefs.

During the brief appearance on McAfee’s show, Kelce also opened up about the support he’s received from his superstar fiancée as he navigated his options. After sharing the news, McAfee asked if Kelce believed that Swift’s storied work ethic inspired him to want to come back for another season.

The NFL star was quick with his answer, saying, “Without a doubt. We share the same love for what we do, and fortunately, we’ve had this desire since we were kids in our respective professions. It’s just amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding, you know, new melodies and, on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.”

“Of course, that’s motivating—that’s motivating for anybody to see, let alone my fiancée, and knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out exactly what the future holds for me,” he added. “Something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what? I’m not done, either.’ I’ve still got some ideas in the back of my mind, and I still got some juice left to play this game.”

You can watch the full clip on YouTube here.

As noted above, Kelce and Swift announced their engagement last autumn on Instagram, and the sweet moment quickly went viral online. The two famously became romantically linked after the NFL star expressed frustration about not meeting the superstar when he attended her massively popular Eras Tour show at Arrowhead Stadium on his and his brother Jason Kelce’s podcast, New Heights.

In the time since, the couple have been vocal about their support for each other’s careers, with Swift often spotted on the sidelines during Kelce’s games and Kelce inviting the Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter onto the aforementioned podcast for an exclusive interview last fall, where Swift announced the release of her record-breaking 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.

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