Football

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past decade or so, you know Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop stars right now -- and of all time, it turns out -- and she's certainly built herself a solid fanbase over the years!

And even though some of her listeners might say otherwise, it looks like her biggest fan of all is her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who was well on his own way to superstardom before he started dating the singer.

Here's a look at how the NFL star carved out a place for himself within the world of professional football ... and ended up being around for some of his girlfriend's biggest career moments.

Kelce's athletic career stretches all the way back to his teenage years, when he was a three-sport athlete -- basketball, baseball and football, to be exact -- while attending Ohio's Cleveland Heights High School.

He later attended the University of Cincinnati -- as did his brother Jason -- where he joined the school's football squad and played at quarterback and tight end.

The athlete had to sit out for the 2010 season after testing positive for marijuana use, although he came back strong for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Kelce ended up being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs as a tight end in 2013, and he's remained with the team ever since.

Kelce's time with the Chiefs didn't exactly start off with a bang, as he spent much of the 2013 NFL season on the sidelines with a knee injury.

However, he came back strong in his subsequent years with the league, and he's set numerous records with both the Chiefs and the NFL as a whole over the length of his career in professional football.

Plus, his skills on the gridiron have helped the Chiefs go all the way to the Super Bowl four times, and he currently has three Super Bowl rings.

Oh yeah, and he's had some high-profile fans cheering in the stands for him at more than one Super Bowl ... we'll explain more in just a minute.

Alright, folks, here's the fun stuff you've been waiting for ... Kelce and Swift were first linked in 2023, when he was spotted at one of the stops on her "Eras" tour.

Afterward, on the "New Heights" podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason -- a retired Philadelphia Eagles center -- he talked about being "mesmerized" by the star, and said he was upset he didn't get to meet Taylor. He said he'd made a friendship bracelet specifically for Taylor -- with his phone number on it -- but didn't get to give it to her in person.

Friends surrounding both celebs got the message to Taylor -- even the Chiefs' head coach Andy Reid reached out to Taylor's father, a friend of his, to vouch for Travis.

“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” Taylor told Time Magazine.

Taylor admitted they got in touch and started hanging out ... and they really set off the rumor mill when she began attending his games.

And by the time she was pictured planting a kiss on his cheek in October 2023, it was pretty apparent the two were an item, and their romance brought plenty of attention to both Kelce's career and the Chiefs as a team.

Plus, she was in the stands when the Chiefs won it all at the 2024 Super Bowl -- and the pair locked lips on the field at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, after the game's fairytale ending went down.

Swift was also in attendance at the 2025 Super Bowl, which saw the Chiefs lose to the Philadelphia Eagles ... and Travis later credited his girlfriend's music with helping him get through his post-loss rough patch.

Kelce's been a source of support for Swift over the course of their relationship, and he's collaborated with her on more than a few occasions -- like when she brought him out onstage for a skit at a 2024 stop on her "Eras" tour!

And he eventually got over his shyness about sharing photos with her on his Instagram account, as he posted several snaps with the singer in July 2025.

Oh yeah, and Swift collaborated with her boyfriend to make a few big announcements ... like dropping an official confirmation about her 12th album, "The Life of a Showgirl" on his "New Heights" podcast.

Greg Olsen caused quite the stir after dropping his nickname for Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane on live TV ... 'cause as it turns out, the word he used also has an entirely different meaning.

The moment went down when the Buffalo exec joined Olsen and Joe Davis to talk some ball during the Bills vs. Chicago Bears preseason matchup. With Beane's team down 31-0, the guys tried to lighten the mood ... and that's when the former tight end called him the word and said he was "having a tough one" on Sunday.

"Putting that smile on his face, just bad timing," he added.

Undrafted free agent Isaiah Bond officially has an NFL home with the Cleveland Browns after being accused of sexual assault earlier this year -- inking a fully-guaranteed deal worth millions just days after his case was no-billed.

21-year-old Bond -- a projected early-round pick in the 2025 draft prior to the allegations -- put pen to paper on a three-year, $3.018 million contract on Monday, according to multiple reports.

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise -- on Thursday, Bond thanked the Orange and Brown in his statement addressing the legal update ... and said he would prove them right in believing his side of the story.

We know there are lots of athletes out there who love to show off their skills ... and this celeb really managed to impress us back in the day!

We caught this pro football player all the way back in 2010 when he was hanging out with a few friends off of Hollywood Boulevard, and he decided to show off his hops by pulling off an impressive vertical jump!

Chuck Liddell is psyched he got to film with the Kelce brothers ... telling TMZ Sports that, despite their enormous fame, Travis and Jason are super humble dudes!

We saw the retired MMA superstar at the L.A. premiere for "Kill Me Again," (directed by ex-MMA fighter turned actor Keith Jardine, who we also spoke to!), just days after we got behind-the-scenes footage of Liddell kickin' ass (literally) in the Kelce's Garage Beer short film.

"It was great!" Liddell said outside the theatre.

Taylor Swift finally denied rumors she played the bear who attacked beau Travis Kelce in "Happy Gilmore 2" -- and turns out, the guy actually behind the costume has a surprise as well ... he had no idea he was acting opposite such a big name!

TMZ caught up with Brandon Alan Smith, the actor who hopped into a bear suit and ambushed a shirtless, honey-slathered TK for the recently released 'HG2' ... and he spoke to us about Taylor's recent praise while admitting he had absolutely no clue he was in the presence of an NFL star, let alone THE Taylor Swift's boyfriend.

Just check out our clip -- Brandon is shaking off his "blissful ignorance" regarding the situation ... and hopes Swifties will let him "Out of the Woods" on this one.

Shedeur Sanders ... QB1 for the Cleveland Browns?? There's a good chance that happens sooner than later -- so says team radio guy Je'Rod Cherry, who tells TMZ Sports he wouldn't be surprised one bit if the rookie's name is called if things go south to start the season.

The Orange and Brown's fifth-round pick is probably the most popular first-year player going into the 2025 campaign ... and after a stellar preseason debut against the Carolina Panthers, some fans are already calling on Cleveland to hand him the keys to the franchise.

Sanders went 14-for-23 for 138 yards and two touchdowns ... with 19 rushing yards as well in the outing.

Jared Goff said Taylor Swift made his Wednesday night one he'll remember all too well going forward ... explaining to reporters that after she name-dropped him on "New Heights" -- his phone blew up.

The pop superstar briefly mentioned the Detroit Lions signal-caller as she was trying to explain to Travis and Jason Kelce how little she knew about football prior to dating the Chiefs tight end ... and Goff said on Thursday that after she brought him up, he went through "a crazy couple hours."

He intimated he got a bunch of texts and calls ... though check out his meeting with media members, he didn't seem to mind it one bit.

Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs teammates' jaws were on the floor when they realized he was REALLY dating Taylor Swift ... with Chris Jones and Patrick Mahomes admitting they were stunned when the pop superstar showed up to her first game.

The topic came up in the new "The Kingdom" documentary that dropped on Thursday ... which broke down the Pro Bowl tight end's journey from publicly shooting his shot on his "New Heights" podcast to landing a full-on relationship with the musician.

The program featured interviews with Chiefs staffers who got the heads up about Swift's plans to attend the Week 3 matchup with the Chicago Bears back in 2023 ... and as Jones put it, even the players were in disbelief.

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is at it again -- the ex-NFL linebacker jumped into the middle of yet another scuffle during the team's joint practice with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday ... and ended up at the bottom of a pile in the process!!

The chaos unfolded during the second workout between the two squads. While it's unclear what exactly led to tensions boiling over ... Vrabel -- who played for the Patriots for eight years -- quickly jumped in to try and end it.

If you look closely, you can see the 50-year-old on the ground and getting pushed around as he tried to restore order. Eventually, the two sides were separated, and Vrabel was able to get back to his feet. All things considered, he appeared just fine.

Myles Garrett might be in hot water for his recent run-in with law enforcement, but all things are good with his love life -- the Cleveland Browns superstar had his gold medalist girlfriend, Chloe Kim, in attendance at Thursday's practice!!

The Orange and Brown are having joint workouts with the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles ahead of Saturday's preseason matchup ... and there was a special VIP guest checking out the action at the NovaCare Complex.

25-year-old Kim documented her visit ... showing off an up-close hangout with Noah the Eagle, an animal ambassador from the local zoo, before sharing vid of her man going through warmups.

A Georgia news station had a hard time getting Michael Penix Jr.'s name right in a lower third this week ... creating a scene that had plenty of grown adults giggling like school children.

Check out the way WTOC 11 in Savannah presented Penix Jr.'s press conference on its Wednesday evening broadcast ... it accidentally wrote Michael "Penis" Jr. on a graphic identifying the Falcons quarterback.

To be fair, the X and the S are close by on a keyboard -- and we're sure it's happened plenty of times to Atlanta reporters since the 25-year-old joined the team last year ... but social media users nonetheless ate it up.

October 3 can't come soon enough for Dave Portnoy -- the Barstool Sports founder and diehard Taylor Swift fan says the pop superstar's "The Life of a Showgirl" album sounds like it was made just for him ... and will feature nothing but chart-topping hits!!

Swifties are losing it after their "mother" spilled all the beans about her 12th studio project on Travis and Jason Kelce's "New Heights" podcast on Wednesday ... and that includes El Presidente, who said, "I think it's gonna be my favorite album of all time!"

Portnoy -- who was apparently so excited he forgot to put on a shirt for his social media reaction -- pointed out how Swift appeared happy as ever alongside her NFL boyfriend.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce could barely keep their hands off each other as they detailed their 'Love Story' on Wednesday's "New Heights" podcast -- and we've got pictures to prove it.

Check out our gallery ... the couple of 2 years were holding each other's hands and intertwining their arms through nearly the entire podcast. They turned up the PDA a notch when the "You Belong with Me" hitmaker grabbed her beau's face to show how thankful she was for him ... and in return, he kissed her hand.

At one hilarious point in the interview, they were so lovey dovey with each other they suggested Jason Kelce just leave the interview!

Taylor Swift says she had absolutely no clue how football was played before meeting Travis Kelce ... admitting she didn't even know the difference between offense and defense.

The "Bad Blood" crooner opened up about her pigskin knowledge on the latest episode of her boyfriend's "New Heights" podcast ... and she made it clear, the gridiron game was far from her forte.

She said on her first date with Kelce, she actually asked him what it was like to line up against his big brother, Jason, during Super Bowl LVII -- not realizing the two were offensive players.

Damar Hamlin just covered his back with a tattoo that will forever serve as a reminder of the tremendous adversity he overcame nearly three years ago.

A video of famed tattoo artist Ganga threw up on his Instagram page this week shows the Buffalo Bills safety recently got several homages to the in-game cardiac arrest he suffered against Cincinnati in January 2023.

Ganga placed the words "Did We Win?" on the NFLer's neck to signify the question Hamlin asked docs when he regained consciousness. On one of the football player's shoulders, the artist etched Bo Jackson's tweet that answered Hamlin's inquiry.