The five most interesting things we learned from Travis Kelce's expansive GQ tell-all

Travis Kelce is one of the most well-known players in the NFL. That's partly because he's one of the most accomplished tight ends in league history, well on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It's also because he's now synonymous with Taylor Swift, his pop-star girlfriend.

The Kansas City Chiefs star recently shared more details about his on- and off-field journey in an expansive interview with GQ. While the 35-year-old perennial Pro Bowler is committed to getting the Chiefs back on a championship track in 2025, he's also got eyes on a future beyond football. And it turns out he once tried very hard to make that football career start in a different city altogether.

Which team did Kelce literally cry over before he became a Chiefs icon? What is it about Swift that really keeps their relationship intact? And where does the three-time Super Bowl champion envision himself once he hangs up the cleats? Here are five of the most interesting things we learned from Kelce's sit-down with Sean Manning:

His off-field endeavors impacted his play

Kelce's receiving yardage and touchdown totals dipped for a second straight year in 2024, and he was all but a nonfactor in Kansas City's Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The tight end's abundance of extracurricular activities, from hosting his "New Heights" podcast to appearing in everything from commercials to movies to game shows, admittedly affected his focus.

"Win a Super Bowl is the only goal," Kelce said. "It's the only goal. It's every goal. ... I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up. And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer. ... [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."

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Brad Crawford

He begged to play for the Browns

It's well-documented that Kelce and his brother, Jason, have a longstanding affinity for the Cleveland area, where they grew up. Travis has previously talked about how he dreamed of playing for the hometown Browns. But this dream manifested as borderline desperation in a meeting with then-Browns coach Rob Chudzinski ahead of the 2013 NFL Draft.

"I cried in Chud's office and said, 'I will f---ing die for this city!'" Kelce said. "I literally was in tears. I said, 'I'm sorry I'm getting emotional. I grew up down the street. I would f---ing do anything to play for the Cleveland Browns.' He looked at me like I was insane. I don't think he'd ever had somebody just pour out their emotions [like that]."

He cares deeply about how he's viewed

This might be obvious to some, considering how often Kelce has placed himself in the limelight. But the tight end isn't afraid to admit he actually concerns himself with the perspective of others. Other high-profile athletes have sworn to quiet the noise of their celebrity as much as possible. Kelce, on the other hand, can't help but tune into what others think, in part because he's set out to be an entertainer.

"You can't block that out," Kelce explained. "If someone says something that they don't like about you, you have to be able to understand how you are portraying yourself for them to say that. I'm a guy who doesn't want anyone to say anything negative about me. Some people don't give a f---. I'm someone who does care."

He admires Taylor Swift for how relatable she is

Kelce insists his relationship with Swift is organic behind the scenes: "We're just two people that are in love." But there's one big reason he's able to sustain such a relationship, which draws so many cameras: Swift knows exactly what it's like to be in the public eye at all times.

"I hadn't experienced somebody in the same shoes as me, having a partner who understands the scrutiny, understands the ups and downs of being in front of millions," he said. "That was very relatable, seeing how exhausted she would get after shows. She may not think of herself as an athlete. She will never tell anyone that she is an athlete. But I've seen what she goes through. I've seen the amount of work that she puts on her body, and it's mind-blowing."

He wants to stay around the NFL after retirement

Kelce has already laid groundwork to be in the entertainment business after he's finished with football. But it also sounds as if he's not planning to be fully finished with football.

"I know that I want to stay around the football world as a profession and then dabble in other areas as well," he said. An admitted influence for his next steps? ESPN's Pat McAfee, a player-turned-media personality who's arguably more known for his current dealings than he was as a colorful NFL player.