Taylor Swift has found another fan in boyfriend Travis Kelce’s older brother, Jason Kelce.
“I’ve been fortunate to meet Taylor now, she’s awesome, down-to-earth, genuine person,” Jason, 36, told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe at the 2024 Pro Bowl on Sunday, February 4.
Jason noted that Swift’s personality is refreshing and “great to see” especially when “somebody of that caliber of stardom still remain[s] as grounded as they are.”
Although Jason is used to the limelight as a center for the Philadelphia Eagles, when Travis, 34, began dating Swift in summer 2023, their family’s fame skyrocketed. “It’s [a case of] a little bit more people noticing,” Jason said of the additional attention. “You’re trying to act the same and be the same.”
The NFL star joked that Travis’ “love life is definitely the top [story] of the NFL right now,” revealing that all he cares about is Travis’ well-being. “As long as Travis is happy and enjoying life, I’m happy and enjoying life,” Jason shared.
Travis’ romance with Swift — which began after the tight end tried and failed to give the musician a friendship bracelet during her Eras Tour in 2023 — has become a popular topic among football and music fans. Since making her debut at a Chiefs game in September 2023, Swift has become a fixture at her boyfriend’s games, and has been shown on camera during each broadcast.
While some football fans have complained that Swift is shown too much, Jason is firmly on team Swiftie. “The attention’s there because the audience wants to see it. If people didn’t want to see it, they wouldn’t be showing it, I know that,” Jason teased during an interview with Cincinnati’s ABC affiliate WCPO 9 on Friday, February 2. “She’s a world star and the quintessential artist right now in the world.”
Jason explained that Swift is “immensely talented, an unbelievable role model for young women across the globe,” which is why he thinks “the NFL would probably be foolish not to show her and show her be a role model for all the young girls out there.”
Swift, for her part, fired back at haters in December 2023.
“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in. There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once,” she told TIME. “I’m just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
Swift isn’t the only one of Travis’ fans who draws a crowd when they’re in the VIP suite. Jason made headlines in January when he went shirtless during the Chiefs victory over the Buffalo Bills. The game also marked Jason and his wife Kylie Kelce’s first time meeting Swift in person.
Although Jason later revealed Kylie, 31, warned him to be on his best behavior, he was glad he stayed true to his wild self. “I was like, ‘Kylie, the first day I met you I was blacked out drunk and fell asleep at a bar,’” Jason joked during a January episode of his and Travis’ “New Heights” podcast. “This is part of the Jason Kelce charm. I want to make my best first impression, this is my best chance. Set that bar nice and low.”
Travis wasn’t surprised by his brother’s antics and told Jason that Swift “said she absolutely loved you.”
