Travis Kelce says his relationship with Taylor Swift is giving him the NFL results of his dreams. The 34-year-old Kansas City Chiefs player and the 33-year-old Karma singer have been linked since she was spotted cheering him on at the Arrowhead Stadium on Sep 23. They have also been seen on PDA-filled outings this month.
Kelce has now admitted it is “hard to wrap my head around” his average yardage when Swift is in the stands.
He made the admission on the New Heights podcast he hosts with his fellow NFL star brother Jason Kelce, 35, after his sibling told him his stats seemed to show it was “good” for his game to have the Grammy winner in the audience.
The elder Kelce told Travis: “When T Swift is at the game, you’re averaging 99 yards. And when you’re left with only your friends and remaining family there, you are at 46.5 yards a game.”
When asked whether he was aware of what fans have dubbed the Taylor Effect, Travis Kelce replied: “How can I not be?”
He also joked that he does worse on the field when “left to his own devices”.
According to Jason Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid has also taken note of the effect Swift has had.
“(Andy Reid) weighed in… Taylor can stay around all she wants.”
Travis Kelce then replied: “I love Coach Reid man. What a guy. Listen, when you’re getting Big Red’s approval and blessings, you know you’re doing something right.”
Despite his praise for Swift’s impact on his brother’s game, Jason Kelce recently admitted he fears Travis Kelce’s safety is at risk.
He told NBC Sports: “It’s certainly been weird, the level that it is now. On one hand, I’m happy for my brother that he seems to be in a relationship that he’s excited about (and) that he is genuine about.
“But there’s another end of it where it’s like, ‘Man, this is a lot.’”
The Philadelphia Eagles centre said: “There’s paparazzi talking about him fuelling his car before the game today and I’m like, ‘Is that really necessary information to share?’ This is another level of stardom that typically football players don’t deal with.”
“So, on one hand, (I’m) really, really happy for my brother and where he’s at in his current situation with Taylor. But on the other hand, there’s some, I think, alarms sometimes with how you know, over-in-pursuit people can be.
“Overall, he can deal with some of this. As long as it’s not becoming a threat to his safety and things like that.”