Let’s face it. Swifties and the NFL fans rarely overlap in interests. That was, until Taylor Swift filled the “blank space” in her life with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and rocked the nation.
So, for all the swifties (and non-NFL fans) out there, here is your rundown of the NFL players you should know.
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
Travis Kelce, #87, is a 33-year-old from none other than the great state of Ohio. He currently plays for the Kansas City Chiefs as a tight end. He has won two Super Bowls and could be considered the best tight end in the league.
Although Taylor Swift is helping him make headlines now, he also received recognition from the news in February of this year, as he faced his older brother, Jason Kelce, in Super Bowl LVII.
Now for the important stuff. Travis Kelce is currently rumored to be seeing Taylor Swift. She recently made two appearances at the Chief’s game. On Sept. 24 she was seen sitting next to Kelce’s mom in Travis’s dedicated suite, and chest-bumping fellow friends and family. The day was a fairytale, to say the least.
Taylor’s appearance at the game has now been covered by almost every news source nationwide. So, will Kelce be “endgame?” If not, at least we will get a new break-up album about it.
Jason Kelce, Philadelphia Eagles
Jason Kelce, #62 for the Philadelphia Eagles, is known for being a very skilled center, and Travis’s brother. Jason is also from Ohio, and spent his college career playing for the University of Cincinnati before being drafted into the NFL in 2011.
He is a co-host for the brothers’ podcast titled “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce,” a podcast that has sky-rocketed in listeners after last Sunday’s events.
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes, #15, is the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, and a two-time Super Bowl Champion. He attended Texas Tech University where he played both baseball and football.
While Mahomes is potentially the best quarterback in the league, outside of football he receives lots of hate on social media aimed towards his wife, Brittany, and his brother, TikTok star Jackson Mahomes. Mahomes and Kelce are best buds, and are often seen goofing off on the side lines.
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals
Known as “America’s Boyfriend,” Bengals quarterback #9 Joe Burrow has stolen girls’ hearts everywhere.
Burrow has been in the NFL since 2020. Before the NFL, he played football for Louisiana State University where he won a college national championship and the Heisman Trophy award. He competed and lost Super Bowl LV1 to the Los Angeles Rams.
Although he lost the game, he certainly won over the ladies’ hearts. It didn’t take long for TikTok to be filled with thirst traps of Burrow. Burrow has little to do with Taylor Swift, but he’s certainly a player you should know.
Isaac Rochell, Las Vegas Raiders
Isaac Rochell, better known as “Isaac Kuch,” plays as a defensive end for the Las Vegas Raiders. While he is evidently a good football player, he is best known as the husband of TikTok queen Allison Kuch.
Allison became famous on TikTok for showing glimpses of her life as a NFL wife, traveling between teams and cities. They are the ultimate duo, and are set to become a trio, adding a baby girl to the family soon.
Since this story is mainly about football players finding their fame due to rockstar women, I felt he deserved a place here.
The latest updates on Taylor and Travis
Taylor Swift has now made an appearance at two of Travis Kelce’s games, first on Sept. 24 versus the Chicago Bears, and again on Oct. 1 against the New York Jets. Her first appearance rocked the headlines, and according to npr.org, Kelce’s jersey sales have increased by 400%. Chief’s game tickets have skyrocketed in sales.
“Long story short,” the “Taylor Effect” has struck once again. But the relationship is still new and “delicate.” Let’s see if Travis can be the “better man.”
NFL speaks on the couple
The NFL’s social media team was quick to notice the increase in attention from swifties. Their bio has been updated multiple times since Swift’s first appearance at Kelce’s game. These have included: “Taylor was here,” “NFL (Taylor’s version),” and “Chiefs are 2-0 as swifties.” The bio changes were “swiftly” removed after football fans’ criticisms, which were balanced out against praise from the swifties. The NFL account went as far as briefly updating its profile photo to an image of Swift at the game. The NFL was quite the “mastermind” when it came to embracing Swift’s new football interest.
Hear what other students and KentWired staff members have to say about the new couple
“I’m a fan of the relationship and I’m happy for her but still not fully over her previous boyfriend since they were together for 6 years and she has so many songs about him that are some of my favorites. But overall I’m happy for her and happy that she’s infiltrated with the NFL. Hopefully some new love songs to come,” said junior nursing major Delaney Duve.
“Her fame is gonna make him look like a fool if they were to break up, and teams won’t want to deal with the Taylor Swift drama,” said sports reporter Kyle Kuchta.
“So far I’m a big fan of Taylor and Travis. Definitely still mourning the end of Taylor and Joe’s six-year relationship, but from what we have seen the new relationship looks happy. To be honest, I have never watched more clips of football before. I think Taylor is making football for the swifties!” said Digital Content Assistant Audrey Trevarthan.
“Travis isn’t Taylor’s typical type and could have a better chance of working out, so maybe it was time for Taylor to go in a different direction,” Sports Editor Jacob Shondel said.
“It’s a PR move. Travis and Taylor look so good together, but starting a relationship considering that she’s about to release a new album and the NFL is doing so well since the ‘relationship’ started. I’m a swiftie, but I honestly don’t think this is real,” said TV2 General Manager Nuried Hurtado.
“If not for Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift wouldn’t be half as famous as she is now. She’s using the relationship to get NFL fans to listen to her. The game was rigged from the start,” said TV2 reporter Michael Neenan.
Kelsie Horner is the digital content director & Audrey Trevarthan is the digital content assistant. Contact them at [email protected] & [email protected].
