Travis and Jason Kelce, brothers, are on their way to becoming NFL legends: Travis is a record-breaking tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jason is the Philadelphia Eagles’ fan favorite center.
Their combined success, however, has created some issues for their parents, such as deciding which team to root for when they play each other and how to attend two playoff games in one day.
Donna Kelce, Travis and Jason’s mother, figured out the latter in 2022 when she drove 1,300 miles in one day to see both of her sons play in NFL Wild Card games. The proud mother attended Jason and the Eagles’ game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida, before boarding a flight to Kansas City to surprise Travis post-game. Donna’s impressive feat was recognized by the NFL’s official Twitter account, which posted a photo of her mid-cheer and wrote, “She did it! There are two games. One of these days. One incredible mother.”
Jason and Travis will both be in the Super Bowl after winning their respective divisional championship games on January 29, 2023. On February 12, 2023, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs will square off in the Super Bowl for the first time.
The Chiefs tight end revealed on the brothers’ podcast New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce that their upcoming matchup is a double-edged sword.
“I feel like I’ve been getting asked this question for my entire career. ‘What would you feel if you played your brother in the Super Bowl?’ The entire time I’ve been like, ‘That’s been the goal.’ Now that it’s actually happening, it’s kind of sick,” Travis said. “Now someone’s gotta send their brother home.”
Despite their competitive nature, the brothers have always been happy for each other’s successes in the Super Bowl. “Seeing him win the Super Bowl and seeing how crazy he went on the field was the happiest I’ve ever been for him,” Travis said of his big brother Jason’s Super Bowl victory in 2018.
Jason felt the same way about Travis’ Super Bowl victory two years later. “Winning it yourself is extremely satisfying… However, seeing someone you love and care about achieve their goals may be more satisfying “SI was told by Jason.
Here’s everything you need to know about Jason and Travis Kelce, from their childhood in Ohio to their decade (and counting) in the NFL together.
Jason and Travis are almost two years apart in age.
Jason and Travis Kelce are separated by exactly 23 months: Travis was born on October 5, 1989, and Jason was born on November 5, 1987. According to Sports Illustrated, the two grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where their father Ed worked in steel and their mother Donna worked in banking. It wasn’t always easy raising two boys so close in age, Donna revealed in an interview with FOX 4 Kansas City.
“There are a lot of broken windows, a lot of crashes, a lot of fighting… Travis was always the one who started things because he wanted his brother’s attention “She revealed.
Jason expressed similar sentiments about growing up with his younger brother Travis. “With a two-year age difference, Travis found all the other ways to get the upper hand — and that was the most annoying thing ever,” Jason said in an interview with NFL Films in 2018.
Aside from annoying each other, their close age difference resulted in natural competition between the two. “They were competitive from a young age,” Donna told FOX 4 Kansas City.
“There were a lot of fights,” she explained in 2020 to Sports Illustrated. “A lot of punches were thrown. It all came down to one person being better than the other and the other not being able to deal with it.”
According to Travis, the brothers’ rivalry wasn’t entirely negative. “I think the competitiveness that we had growing up was a big part of why we got into the NFL in the first place,” he told NFL Films.
They were teammates on the football team at the University of Cincinnati.
In high school, the Kelce brothers participated in multiple sports: football and baseball for both, hockey for Jason in the winters, and basketball for Travis. However, when it came to college, Jason attended the University of Cincinnati and was a linebacker before becoming an offensive lineman, according to Sports Illustrated.
Travis decided to play football at Cincinnati two years later, despite receiving multiple scholarship offers. “Being two years behind him, I’ve always kind of followed in his footsteps,” he explained to NFL Films. “It just made the most sense to be on his team, knowing that he’s already going through this system.”
Travis’ college football career was nearly cut short when he failed a drug test after his freshman year in 2009. It resulted in his scholarship being revoked and him being kicked off the football team — until Jason intervened. Jason had Travis move in with him and some other teammates — “so I could keep an eye on him,” Jason told the Philadelphia Inquirer — and also discussed allowing Travis back on the team with the head coach. His big brother’s efforts were successful.
“I’ve never really inquired as to how he got me back on the team,” Travis told Sports Illustrated.
“That was just my brother being a big brother, looking out for me every step of the way and fighting for my success.”
Jason has been a member of the Philadelphia Eagles since he was drafted in 2011.
Jason was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles after graduating from the University of Cincinnati. According to Philadelphia Eagles writer Dave Spadaro, he was a “undersized, late-round draft pick” as an offensive lineman with a “statistically, about a 6% chance of lasting two seasons in the NFL.” Jason had been the starting center for the Philadelphia Eagles for 12 seasons as of January 2023.
Jason has had a lot of success in his 12 years with the Eagles. The center has five Pro Bowl appearances, four Associated Press first-team All-Pro selections, and a Super Bowl victory in 2018. Following Philadelphia’s first-ever Super Bowl victory, Jason delivered an emotional speech during the team’s victory parade that went viral.
“The bottom line is that we desired it more. Everyone involved. Every single coach. The front desk. Mr. Jeffrey Lurie. Everyone desired it more. That is why we are here today. That is why we are the first team in Eagles history to hold that trophy “Jason addressed the Philadelphia fans.
According to ESPN, he signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Eagles in March 2022, making him the highest-paid center in the NFL. “The bottom line is that being in the same place for the entirety of my career has truly been a blessing,” Jason said of his 12 seasons with the Eagles.
Travis was drafted in 2013 by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Travis, like his older brother, has spent his entire NFL career with the same team: the Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Andy Reid, the coach who drafted him to the Chiefs, was Jason’s former coach with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Travis has since established a reputation in the NFL for both his performance and his personality. He’s been to the Pro Bowl eight times, the Super Bowl twice (and won once) in his ten seasons with the Chiefs, and he holds the NFL record for the most consecutive seasons (7) with 1,000 receiving yards by a tight end (7). Aside from his football skills, he’s also known for his celebratory — and meme-worthy — end-zone dances.
Travis is widely regarded as one of the best tight ends to ever play the game, thanks to his Hall-of-Fame-worthy NFL career. Sports Illustrated named him one of the top ten NFL players for 2022, ESPN called him “one of the best NFL players ever,” and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes called him “the greatest tight end of all time.” Travis considers himself to be among the best.
“I’m not going to tell myself anything. I’m going to watch the movie. I’m going to check the statistics. I’m going to look at where my team stands in comparison to everyone else and ask myself, “Am I the best?” He revealed this to GQ in 2017. “I believe I am the game’s best tight end.
Travis wears No. 87 in honor of his brother Jason
Travis has worn number 87 for the Chiefs his entire career, and the number pays special tribute to his older brother Jason. In a post-game conversation with Jason, the tight end revealed that he chose the number in honor of Jason’s birth year, 1987.
“You’re the only reason I wear 87 in the first place,” Travis said to Jason on the sidelines. “That’s something I never told you, man. You established the legacy.”
In an interview with NFL Films, Travis explained his decision to wear the number 87. “If there is a Kelce legacy, two brothers making it to the NFL, it all started in 1987 because this big guy was born in 1987,” Travis explained as he sat next to Jason.
Jason is a married man with two daughters — and another on the way.
Jason married his girlfriend Kylie McDevitt on April 14, 2018, in Philadelphia, two months after the Eagles won the Super Bowl. According to Philadelphia Magazine, the couple met on Tinder. “Thank goodness you swiped right too,” Kylie captioned a 2015 Instagram photo of the couple.
Kylie and Jason have two daughters since their wedding: Wyatt Elizabeth in 2019 and Elliotte Ray in 2021. Kylie and Jason are expecting their third child in February 2023, bringing their family to four.
“Another Kelce lady? Don’t mind if we do,” Kylie announced on Instagram in September 2022.
Jason’s girlfriends are already his biggest fans. Jason discovered his 3-year-old daughter Wyatt singing part of the “Fly, Eagles, Fly” anthem from her crib after the Eagles won the playoffs in January 2023. “E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles, yay!” she exclaimed over the baby monitor as her father looked on.
“Apparently Wyatt is also pretty pumped about the Eagles’ win last night,” Jason captioned the hilarious video on Instagram. “I awoke this morning to her singing the entire fight song in her crib.”
Each of the brothers has their own foundation to help others.
Both Jason and Travis understand the value of doing good both on and off the field. Each brother has established his or her own foundation to give back to the communities that have supported them as professional athletes.
Travis founded Eighty-Seven & Running in 2015 to assist underserved youth in developing critical life skills, such as converting an abandoned Kansas City muffler shop into an educational STEM lab for teens.
“It’s what it’s all about, in my mind,” Kelce said of his philanthropy to PEOPLE. “Do I care about football over the course of my career? A great deal. I am concerned about my career and the legacy I will leave, but I am also aware that I have the opportunity to connect with many people in this community. And with that comes a certain amount of responsibility to do the right thing.”
In October 2022, Jason established his own foundation, (Be)Philly. The non-profit organization is dedicated to bettering the lives of Philadelphia’s youth.
“Whether it was my family, friends, or fellow Philadelphians, I have always felt an outpouring of love and support, which has helped me achieve my goals on and off the field. It’s now my turn, “Jason posted a message on the nonprofit’s website.
He went on, “Philadelphia is a fantastic city, but we believe it has the potential to be even better. We owe it to the next generation to provide them with the resources and opportunities they deserve.”
Travis had his own dating reality show, Catching Kelce.
Travis tried to find love on reality television in 2016 with his own show on E! called Catching Kelce. Travis met one woman from each of the 50 states and went on a series of dates to find his perfect match on the elimination-style show. Travis later revealed in 2023 that the decision to do the show was more financially motivated than romantically motivated.
“I heard about this situation where I could make six figures in two weeks and I was like, ah, and 50 ladies, I’m like, ‘This is actually starting to sound a little better,'” Travis said in January 2023 on The Pivot Podcast. “It was unquestionably a learning experience.”
Travis was in an on-again, off-again relationship with model and influencer Kayla Nicole for five years, despite not finding a lifelong partner on Catching Kelce. They started dating in 2017, split in August 2020, reconciled in December of that year, and then split again in 2022.
“I’m currently in the free market. I’m out there enjoying life and concentrating on my job “In January 2023, he revealed his relationship status on The Pivot Podcast.
They co-host the podcast New Heights With Jason & Travis Kelce.
In September 2022, the Kelce brothers launched their joint podcast, New Heights With Jason & Travis Kelce. Despite their hectic football schedules, the duo records weekly episodes ranging from 60 to 90 minutes in length, where they discuss their games, trending NFL news, and sports headlines.
“It’s been nice to have that set amount of time to just sit down and chat,” Travis said of their podcast. “It’s like we were just kicking it at dinner in high school and college together.”
Former New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes have all joined the brothers on their podcast.
“I’m having a blast,” Travis told Forbes. “It’s fun to just do something with my brother weekly.”
In 2022, Jason recorded a Christmas album with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jason’s abilities aren’t limited to the football field; the Eagles center demonstrated his ability to carry a tune when he recorded a Christmas album with some of his teammates in 2022. Jason, along with Eagles offensive linemen Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, collaborated on recordings of classic holiday songs such as “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” “White Christmas,” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”
“I love Christmas, and I thought doing a Christmas album would be great,” Kelce said in A Philly Special Christmas, a mini-documentary about the album’s creation. “The problem is that I can’t sing, so I knew I had to entice guys who could sing to come in and do this.”
Other team members, such as quarterback Jalen Hurts and linebacker Connor Barwin, made appearances on the album as well. The album’s proceeds were donated entirely to the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center (CCTC) in Philadelphia to fund a holiday toy drive.
“Cannot adequately express how much fun it was to create and sing on this album,” Jason wrote on Instagram. “I hope everyone has as much fun with it as we did making it.”
Jason and Travis will square off in Super Bowl LVII.
On February 12, 2023, the Kelce brothers will make history by becoming the first brothers to ever compete in the Super Bowl.
According to USA Today, Jason stated after the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers in their divisional championship game, “Yes, I have a Kansas City sweatshirt that I will wear for the next three hours and that will be the last time I wear it for the rest of the year. I’m done being a Chiefs fan in three hours, win or lose.”
Later that day, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, securing their place in the Super Bowl.
Travis said on their podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, that the brothers have always wanted to face off on the Super Bowl field.
“It’s wild and surreal,” he explained. “I feel like I’ve been asked this question my entire life. ‘How would you feel if you were pitted against your brother in the Super Bowl?’ ‘That’s been the goal the whole time,’ I’ve said.”
Travis went on to say: “It’s sick that this is actually happening. Someone has to send their brother home now.”