Travis Kelce laughed off the Taylor Swift references made by an NFL commentator when he was out on the football field on Sunday, Sept. 18. During the Kansas City Chiefs-Jacksonville Jaguars game, Rich Eisen from the NFL Network poked fun at the romance rumors about Travis, 33, and Taylor, 33, by mentioning titles of the pop star’s songs like “Blank Space” and “Anti-Hero” when giving his play-by-plays about Travis. A video of Rich’s T-Swift-inspired puns was shared to Instagram and Travis had the perfect reaction to it. “Well played Rich…. Well played 👏🏻😂,” the tight end wrote in response.
In the video, Rich’s references to Taylor were emphasized by a dinging noise that went off multiple times. “You saw it on Thursday night, when Travis Kelce wasn’t in there, it left a ‘blank space,’ but I think he returns today and proves to be the ‘anti-hero,’ ” Rich said, name-dropping two Taylor songs. The commentator brought up more of the singer’s tracks “August,” “Delicate,” “Shake It Off,” and “Style.”
This wasn’t the first occasion that Travis acknowledged the rumors that he’s dating Taylor. “I know what you writers wanna hear, and you wanna hear more about that. And I’m not gonna give you anything,” the Chiefs player said during an NFL+ interview on Sept. 15, marking the first time he addressed the gossip about his love life.
In that interview, Travis also reminded coy about whether or not he brought a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it to give to Taylor when he attended the Eras Tour. “I said what I said. And I meant what I said when I said it,” Travis responded . “You know what, it is what it is. I’m not gonna talk about my personal life.”
Travis’ brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, 35, was also asked about his brother’s relationship status while on TNF on Prime on Sept. 14. “I’ve seen these rumors. I cannot comment,” Jason said, before adding, “I don’t really know what’s going on there. I know Trav is having fun, and we’ll see what happens with whoever he ends up with.”
The rumors about Travis and Taylor surfaced via a report from The Messenger that came out Sept. 12. “Taylor and Travis have been quietly hanging out,” an insider told the outlet. “She saw him when she was in NYC a few weeks ago.” Taylor was linked to The 1975 singer Matty Healy earlier this year, following her split from her boyfriend of six years Joe Alwyn.