Travis Kelce

Travis Michael Kelce (born October 5, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Cincinnati. He is a four-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro.

High school career
Kelce attended Cleveland Heights High School in his hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball. Excelling at football, he was a three-year letter winner at quarterback for the Tigers, and recognized with All-Lake Erie League honors after totaling 2,539 yards of total offense as a senior. He collected 1,016 yards rushing, including 10 touchdowns and 1,523 passing yards on 103-of-198 attempts, with 21 scores and eight interceptions in 2007.

College career
Considered a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, Kelce accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Cincinnati over offers from Akron, Eastern Michigan, and Miami. He joined his brother, Jason Kelce, who was the starting left guard for the Bearcats. After redshirting in 2008, he appeared in 11 games, playing at tight end and quarterback out of the Wildcat formation. He tallied eight rushes for 47 yards and two touchdowns along with one reception for three yards in 2009. The following season, he did not play due to a violation of team rules. After serving a one-year suspension, Kelce was back with the team to start the 2011 season. For the season, he saw action in games as a tight end and recorded 13 catches totaling 150 yards and two touchdowns. In his last collegiate season, he set personal career highs in receptions (45), receiving yards (722), yards per receptions (16.0), and receiving touchdowns (8), he also earned first-team all-conference honors. In March 2012, Kelce was named winner of the College Football Performance Awards Tight End of the Year.

2013 NFL Draft
Kelce was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round (63rd pick overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft. The Chiefs had hired Andy Reid as their new head coach during the off-season. Reid was familiar with Kelce after he had drafted and coached his brother, Jason Kelce, during his time as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. On June 6, 2013, the Chiefs signed him to a four-year, $3.12 million rookie contract that also included a signing bonus of $703,304.

2013 season: rookie year
On October 12, Kelce was placed on injured reserve after having surgery on his knee. He only played in one game during the season and did not record any statistics.

2014 season
Kelce's second professional season was much more productive than his rookie season. On September 21, against the Miami Dolphins, he recorded his first professional touchdown on a 20-yard reception from quarterback Alex Smith. On November 30, he was fined $11,025 for "unsportsmanlike conduct" during a 29–16 loss to the Denver Broncos. Kelce made an inappropriate hand gesture and simulated a jerking motion at the Broncos linebacker Von Miller. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid later called this "immature". On December 7, against the Arizona Cardinals, he had seven receptions for 110 yards for his first career game with over 100 receiving yards. On December 28, against the San Diego Chargers, he had an offensive fumble recovery for a touchdown. Kelce was the Chiefs leading receiver during the 2014 season, totaling 862 yards off 67 receptions.

2015 season
Kelce began 2015 with his first career multiple touchdown game, with six receptions for 106 yards and two scores against the Houston Texans. It was his only 100+ yard game, but he had at least one reception in all 16 games, and was ranked a top-five tight end by ESPN. He started all 16 regular season games and recorded 72 catches for 875 yards and five touchdowns, earning his way to his first Pro Bowl. The Chiefs finished the regular season with an 11–5 record and made the playoffs. In his first career playoff game, Kelce had eight receptions for 128 yards in a 30–0 Wild Card Round victory over the Houston Texans. In the Divisional Round against the New England Patriots, he had six receptions for 23 yards as the Chiefs lost 20–27.

2016 season
On January 29, 2016, Kelce signed a five-year, $46 million contract extension. He was ranked 91st by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016. On October 30, against the Indianapolis Colts, he had seven receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. In a November 6 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was ejected after receiving two "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalties after arguing with two referees over not having a pass interference penalty called. The second resulted from him sarcastically throwing his towel at an official in a flagging motion due to being upset about the first penalty. He was later fined $24,309 for his outburst. On December 4, against the Atlanta Falcons, he had eight receptions for 140 yards. On December 8, he recorded 101 receiving yards against the Oakland Raiders, his fourth consecutive game topping 100. He joined Jimmy Graham and former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez as the only NFL tight ends ever to do so. In a Christmas Day win over Denver, he had career bests of 11 receptions for 160 yards, along with a touchdown. He finished the season with career highs in yards (1,125) and receptions (85). His 1,125 receiving yards led the league among tight ends and his 85 receptions were second among tight ends behind Dennis Pitta of the Baltimore Ravens. Kelce's 634 yards after the catch also led all NFL tight ends. He was named as a starter in his second career Pro Bowl, held on December 20, 2016. He was also named First-team All-Pro. He was ranked 26th by his fellow players, and second among tight ends, on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017. The Chiefs won the AFC West with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. In the Divisional Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kelce had five receptions for 77 yards in the 16–18 loss.

2017 season
On September 17, 2017, in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelce had eight receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown in the 27–20 victory. After just one reception for one yard in Week 3, Kelce recorded seven receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown in Week 4 followed by eight for 98 in Week 5. In Week 8, he had seven receptions for 133 yards to pass Zach Ertz as the NFL's leading tight end in both categories, along with a touchdown. During Week 13 against the New York Jets, Kelce opened the game with spectacular fashion as he scored two receiving touchdowns on 90 receiving yards in the first quarter after 2 minutes and 46 seconds has passed since regulation began. He finished the game with 94 receiving yards on four receptions, but the Chiefs lost 31–38. On December 19, 2017, Kelce was named to his third straight Pro Bowl. Kelce finished the season with a career-high eight receiving touchdowns. He finished second among tight ends with 1,038 receiving yards, only trailing Gronkowski's 1,084 receiving yards. He was ranked 24th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018. The Chiefs finished with a 10–6 record and qualified for the playoffs. In the Wild Card Round against the Tennessee Titans, Kelce finished with four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown in the 21–22 defeat. He was not able to finish the game as he suffered a concussion in the first half on a hit to his helmet.

2018 season
In the 2018 season, Kelce benefited from the rise of new quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who had an All-Pro season. After being held to a lone reception for six yards in the season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, he rebounded with seven receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 2 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. In two of the next three games, he was able to reach 100 receiving yards against the San Francisco 49ers and the Jacksonville Jaguars. He added 99 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 9 win over the Cleveland Browns, and went into the Week 12 bye with 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown in an offensively-spectacular 51-54 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. After, in the Week 13 win over the Oakland Raiders, Kelce had career-bests of 12 receptions and 168 yards, including two short touchdowns in the first half. At this point, he was well on his way to an NFL record, but his production tapered off; over the final four weeks, Kelce averaged six receptions for 63.5 yards and had only one touchdown reception. In Week 17, Kelce indeed broke the NFL record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a single season, but San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle passed him to claim the record less than an hour later. Kelce ended the regular season at 10th in the NFL in receptions with 103 and receiving yards with 1,336, and sixth in receiving touchdowns with 10. He was named to the 2018 Pro Bowl and was named first-team All-Pro. The Chiefs won the AFC West and earned a first-round bye. In the Divisional Round against the Indianapolis Colts, he had seven receptions for 108 yards in the 31–13 victory. In the AFC Championship against the New England Patriots, he had three receptions for 23 yards and a receiving touchdown in the 31–37 overtime loss.

Personal life
Kelce is the younger brother of Jason Kelce, center for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kelce starred in E! Entertainment Television's dating show, Catching Kelce in January 2016. The winner picked by Kelce was Maya Benberry, and they started dating after the show ended in April 2016. In January 2017, Benberry confirmed that they have broken up. In May 2017, Kelce was confirmed to be in a relationship with entertainment reporter Kayla Nicole.