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Chiefs TE Travis Kelce believes production might have 'slipped' with 'more focus' on opportunities as entertainer 

With the bright lights of Hollywood opportunity beckoning for Travis Kelce, did his production dim because of it?

The Kansas City Chiefs 10-time Pro Bowler believes that could indeed be the case.

Kelce’s 823 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions in 2024 were his lowest since a one-game rookie season more than a decade earlier. His drive to flourish in other endeavors could well have been the culprit in his slide.

“I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up,” Kelce said in a GQ cover story that dropped Tuesday. “And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer.

“I don’t say this as ‘I shouldn’t have done it.’ I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”

Though his 2024 production was more glaring, as Kelce put his last two campaigns together, it’s notable that in 2023 he snapped a seven-season streak of 1,000-yard seasons -- the most ever by a tight end.

While Kelce’s numbers might have dipped, his star status has never been brighter.

The beau of pop megastar Taylor Swift, Kelce hosted Saturday Night Live in March of 2023, not long after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII against his brother Jason Kelce’s Philadelphia Eagles. Since then, he appeared in five episodes of FX’s Grotesquerie and had a role in Netflix's recently released Happy Gilmore 2. There’s also his hugely popular New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast. That same pod’s newest episode is set to drop on Wednesday with Swift making her first appearance. Unsurprisingly, it’s expected to be one of the most listened-to podcasts of all time.

Thus, as Kelce looks to find renewed focus on football, he’s reaching newer and bigger heights -- pun intended.

Along the way, his relationship with Swift has become a love story that extends well beyond the football world, but has brought in more female football fans, “Swifties” becoming Kelce’s fans and then some.

Likewise, Swift has become a big fan, according to Kelce, who conducted the GQ interview prior to hosting the annual Tight End University with co-founders George Kittle and Greg Olsen in June. Swift had a surprise performance amid the festivities in Nashville.

Still perhaps the greatest musical attraction in the world, Swift seemingly has become Kelce’s No. 1 football fan, as well.

“I sort of made her a football fan,” Kelce said. “She is the most engulfed fan now. She knows what the injury reports look like. She understands what special situations are, third and short -- all these things because she just naturally loves to hear about my job.”

Kelce’s time in the limelight isn’t darkening, but his focus on football and Swift seems better away from it.

“When there is not a camera on us, we’re just two people that are in love,” he said. “It can be perceived as something else because of how much it is talked about and how much we are tracked whenever we do go out, but I would say that it’s as normal of. ... It happened very organically even though from a media standpoint it was being tracked. It still happened very organically.”

In myriad ways, the 35-year-old Kelce's future is bright and overflowing with options.

After a dozen seasons in the NFL, Kelce’s résumé is remarkable. He is a member of the Hall of Fame’s All-2010s Team, a four-time All-Pro, a three-time Super Bowl champion, third in receiving yards by a tight end (15,127), third in receptions (1,004) and fifth in TDs (77).

He contemplated retirement this offseason, but that’s long behind him. With the bitter taste of a Super Bowl loss to the Eagles adding to his motivation, Kelce is locked in for 2025 on the field.

“I just have such a motivation to show up this year for my guys,” he said.

And, above all else, the goal on the football field is the ultimate one: hoisting another Lombardi Trophy.

"Win a Super Bowl is the only goal,” Kelce said. “It’s the only goal. It’s every goal.”