Portrait · Adam Schultz / White House; existing portrait crop / Public domain

Travis Kelce

American football player, presenter and producer

Born 1989

Travis Kelce is an American football tight end, presenter and producer whose career runs from Cleveland Heights and the University of Cincinnati to the Kansas City Chiefs. Born in Westlake, Ohio, in 1989, he grew up with older brother Jason and parents Ed and Donna. At Cleveland Heights High School, he played football, basketball and baseball, with quarterback his principal football position. Competition with his older brother helped shape his sporting drive. He joined Cincinnati in 2008 and redshirted before combining quarterback and tight-end responsibilities. A team-rule violation cost him his scholarship and the 2010 season. He stayed with Jason, worked outside football and returned as a walk-on tight end. By his senior season he had regained a scholarship and developed into a receiving target. Cincinnati later reported that he completed a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies in 2022, well after his playing years; the degree is distinct from his earlier exploratory-studies major. The Chiefs drafted him 63rd overall in 2013. His rookie season was largely lost to injured reserve, but his subsequent receiving role developed into a central part of the offence. Between 2016 and 2022 he recorded seven consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. Multiple All-Pro selections accompanied those records. Three Super Bowl championships followed with Kansas City. The club confirmed his return for a fourteenth season in March 2026 after he led its 2025 catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. A checked 2026 Week 3 club highlight also documents a touchdown reception against Miami. His public work increasingly crosses into broadcasting and entertainment. Catching Kelce placed him at the centre of a reality series in 2016, and Moonbase 8 cast him as a fictional version of himself in 2020. He launched New Heights with Jason in September 2022, hosted Saturday Night Live in March 2023 and hosted the KelceJam music festival. His later work includes game-show presenting in Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, Ed Laclan in FX’s Grotesquerie and The Waiter in Happy Gilmore 2. Producing is a separate strand: Legion M names him as an executive producer of My Dead Friend Zoe, while Netflix includes him among the executive producers of the 2026 documentary Jean-Michel Basquiat. Its Tribeca premiere does not establish a completed Netflix release. The foundation Eighty-Seven & Running supports Operation Breakthrough and the Ignition Lab. Kansas City’s 2025 Walter Payton selection made him a national nominee. His and Jason’s coauthored No Dumb Questions appeared as a William Morrow hardcover in June 2026. An original July interview report updates his public relationship record to marriage with Taylor Swift. Dated reading, music, food and training accounts retain their interview settings and historical limits.

Verified identityCore facts checked against named sources.

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Connected people

ConnectionJason KelceOlder brother and New Heights co-host.

ConnectionDonna KelceMother named in his college biography.

ConnectionEd KelceFather named in his college biography.

Selected career chronology

Credits Index

Major screen, stage, music, sport or broadcast work. This is a selected public-career index, not a complete employment history.

Year	Title	Medium	Role	IMDb
2008	Cincinnati Bearcats	Sport	Redshirt recruit	—
2009	Cincinnati Bearcats	Sport	Quarterback/tight end	—
2011	Cincinnati Bearcats	Sport	Tight end	—
2012	Cincinnati Bearcats	Sport	Senior tight end	—
2013	NFL Draft	Sport	Chiefs third-round selection, 63rd overall	—
2013	Kansas City Chiefs	Sport	Tight end — rookie season	—
2016	Catching Kelce	Television series	Self	IMDb
2020	Moonbase 8	Television series	Kelce — Dry episode	IMDb
2020	Super Bowl LIV	Sport	Champion	—
2022	New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce	Podcast series	Co-host	IMDb
2022	New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce	Podcast series	Executive producer — indexed 2022–2024 credits	IMDb
2023	Saturday Night Live	Television episode	Host — March 4 episode	IMDb
2023	Kelce	Documentary film	Self	IMDb
2023	Super Bowl LVII	Sport	Champion	—
2023	KelceJam	Live event	Music festival host	—
2024	Grotesquerie	Television series	Ed Laclan	IMDb
2024	Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?	Television series	Host	IMDb
2024	My Dead Friend Zoe	Film	Executive producer; 2025 US theatrical release	IMDb
2024	Super Bowl LVIII	Sport	Champion	—
2025	Happy Gilmore 2	Film	The Waiter	IMDb
2025	Taylor Swift: The End of an Era	Documentary series	Self	IMDb
2025	Brewmite II	Short film	Performer — Garage Beer promotional short	IMDb
2026	Jean-Michel Basquiat	Documentary film	Executive producer; Tribeca premiere, Netflix streaming forthcoming	IMDb
2026	Kansas City Chiefs	Sport	Tight end — 14th season	—