Former NFL Star ‘Not Surprised Weed-Smoking Travis Kelce’ Has a Celebrity Girlfriend Now
The world of sports and music collided in September 2023 when pop icon Taylor Swift was seen at an NFL game cheering on Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. After weeks of speculation from football fans and Swifties all around the world, it was confirmed that the two are dating. And since then their relationship has become a huge sports and entertainment story that some people just can’t get enough of.
So what do athletes who played with Kelce over the years think about him dating the biggest pop star on the planet? Here’s why one of Kelce’s former teammates isn’t surprised by it at all.
Jason Avant says he ‘disciplined’ Kelce and is ‘not surprised’ the tight end’s dating Swift
Former wide receiver Jason Avant spent several seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He later joined the Chiefs where he played with Kelce in the 2014 and 2015 seasons before retiring.
Kelce was only in his second NFL season when Avant joined the Chiefs. At that time people were talking more about his suspension back in college for failing a drug test than his play on the field. As Avant joked: “Kelce was suspended for smoking weed at college — but I disciplined him at the Chiefs.”
Avant also discussed Kelce’s ability to listen and learn and the raw talent he saw from the tight end right away.
Speaking on behalf of Casino Alpha Avant explained: “Kelce took my advice well, he absorbs everything. He would go over moves with me and say I learned this from you, let me see if I can do it. There were things he could do as a tight end that tight ends just aren’t supposed to do. He can stop and start better than any tight end that’s ever played the game.”
By 2015, Kelce made his first Pro Bowl and has been selected every single year since.
When Avant was asked if he was surprised that Kelce had gone on to have such a famous celebrity for a girlfriend, the former wideout revealed that he wasn’t.
“Did I put having a celebrity girlfriend one day past him? No,” Avant said before adding: “He had a show about dating Travis Kelce, so he’s been in the limelight for some time. He would interview girls to date on Catching Kelce, which was a TV show … So am I surprised? No, I’m not surprised. I don’t think he would have limited himself. But it just so happens he shot a shot from way deep and scored! He shot that from half-court!”
‘Catching Kelce’ was an ‘extremely awkward’ experience for the football player
Avant is referring to the reality dating show the Chiefs tight end starred in back in 2016. Catching Kelce was basically a sports version of The Bachelor. But instead of around 30 contestants looking for love, Kelce had 50 eligible women–one from each state–vying for his heart.
In 2023, the tight end reflected on filming the show and called it an “awkward” experience.
“It was extremely awkward because I really didn’t have much to say about what we were doing on the show … They came to me with an offer financially. I was just like, ‘Alright, man, I’ve got to do this.’ I was so bad financially my first couple of years,” Kelce admitted during an episode of The Pivot Podcast, adding that he “went through [his] first couple checks like it was nothing.
“So I heard about this situation where I could make six figures in two weeks and I was like, ah, and 50 ladies, I’m like, ‘This is actually starting to sound a little better’ … At the end of the day, I don’t think I got portrayed as myself.”
But these days Kelce just has eyes for one woman and they’re continuing to enjoy their love story with sources close to the couple telling ET: “Taylor and Travis are doing really well. They try to spend as much time as they can together. Travis also makes it a point to make sure Taylor feels as comfortable as possible at his home. They have discussed their future as a couple and are excited at the idea of it.”
