Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce revealed that his girlfriend, pop superstar Taylor Swift, is encouraging him to continue his NFL career amid speculation about his potential retirement during an appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show Wednesday (January 16).

“She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game,” Kelce said.

The three-time Super Bowl champion said Swift "loves" attending his games and enjoys "cheering" for him.

“I got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams,” he said.

Swift attended 13 of Kelce's games since the couple went public with their relationship in 2023, most of which took place at Arrowhead Stadium. The 12-year veteran recently surpassed the 1,000 career receptions plateau and became the Chiefs' all-time leader in touchdown receptions, but has seen his numbers decline, recording 823 yards and three touchdowns, his lowest single-season totals in both categories since becoming a starter in 2014.

“I love everything that I’m doing … but at the end of the day, I’m not having that extreme success on the field,” Kelce said. “I’m excited for these next couple of games … to finish this season off. I’ll reevaluate it like I always do [and] I’ll probably tell myself how much I love this thing and I’ll come back next year.”

Kelce famously revealed that he attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number when he attended her concert at Arrowhead Stadium prior to their relationship in 2023. Swift later said that the three-time Super Bowl champion "very adorably put me on blast" when he acknowledged the situation on his New Heights podcast, which she said "was metal as hell" while being featured as Time Magazine's 'Person of the Year' in December 2023.

The Chiefs are coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories and have won in three of the last five years.

Jaime Endemaño