In a new ESPN docuseries called The Kingdom, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed his initial skepticism about teammate Travis Kelce’s budding romance with Taylor Swift.
In fact, Mahomes admitted he needed to “see it to believe it” when Kelce first told him during the week leading up to her debut appearance at Arrowhead Stadium in September 2023.
Sheesh. Imagine having so little trust in your tight end that you’d think he’d make up a story like that one? To be fair, it was probably seen as a pretty wild claim at the time.
“[Kelce] told me during the week,” the 3-time Super Bowl champion quarterback says in the series’ third episode. “I was one of those like, ‘I got to see it, you know? I got to see it until I believe it.’”
On the sidelines during a game, Mahomes chatted with Kelce about the surprise guest. Mahomes noted the overwhelming attention toward Swift’s VIP box during the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears.
“That’s the first person I noticed. I didn’t see anybody else,” Mahomes told his four-time first-team All-Pro tight end. “You definitely felt the buzz, and you could see people in the stadium gravitating toward where she was at there. But at the same time, we had business to handle.”
Mahomes’ Teammates Had a Surprising Reaction
While Patrick Mahomes was apparently briefed on the situation, other teammates’ reactions to the Kelce-Swift romance show that it had the potential to be a massive distraction for the team.
“You know the locker room was like, ‘Taylor Swift’s here. Taylor Swift’s here. For real? With Travis? Oh my god,” defensive tackle Chris Jones said, according to the New York Post.
They were seemingly shocked that Travis could get himself a date with the biggest pop superstar on the planet. Again with the disrespect.
“We’re like, ‘Oh my god, Travis pulled Taylor Swift,’” Jones added.
Mahomes recently claimed he was also one of the first to know about Taylor Swift’s new album titled The Life of a Showgirl, scheduled for release on October 3rd. She revealed the news on her boyfriend’s “New Heights” podcast.
But his quarterback was already in on the announcement.
They’re Loving the Attention Tay Tay Brings
In what could be perceived as an attempt at becoming the least likable team in the league, Mahomes and Kelce have leaned into full support of Swift despite fans booing her due to the oversaturation.
Swift is looking forward to a less chaotic period with more time to support Kelce at his games. And more Chiefs games mean more screen time for the pop singer—every reaction to every play, plastered on the jumbotron.
Kelce confirmed as much during a previous episode of his podcast.
“She tried to get to as many as she could last year, and she came to a lot,” Kelce said. “We’ll have Tay representing over at Arrowhead [this season].”
Mahomes is a bit of a ‘Swiftie’ himself.
“At first I feel like everybody stayed away and just let [Kelce] do what he was doing, but then he started bringing Taylor around and you realized how cool a person she was,” Mahomes said in an interview shortly after the relationship had been made public.
“For us, there were a couple of jokes in the beginning, but now it’s just – she’s part of Chiefs Kingdom now, she’s part of the team.”
For his part, Kelce insists that the sports and entertainment power couple is not fishing for attention.
“It gets thrown out there that we’re trying to seek attention now and then, but it’s like, we’re just enjoying life, having fun, going to hockey games, kind of introducing her to some more of the sports world that she hasn’t really [seen],” he said.
Let’s be real – He loves the attention. She loves the attention. It seems like the Chiefs as a team love the attention, and the league certainly relishes it.
