Travis Kelce offered a two-word response to his 2023 People’s Choice Awards nomination for Athlete of the Year.
“F–king nonsense,” the Chiefs tight end said on Wednesday’s episode of the “New Heights” podcast, which he co-hosts with older brother and Eagles center, Jason Kelce.
“What did I do to get Athlete of the Year? I did ‘SNL’ (Saturday Night Live).”
Kelce, 34, joins a stacked list of nominees in the category that includes NBA greats LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry, U.S. Open champ Coco Gauff, soccer superstar Lionel Messi, two-time WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu and famed Olympic gymnast Simone Biles.
Although his résumé is nothing to scoff at — two Super Bowl titles and nine Pro Bowl nods, to name a few accolades — Kelce has criticized his play throughout much of the year and was just shy of eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards this season, something he has done every season since 2016.
Off the field, his profile skyrocketed in the second half of 2023 when it was revealed he and pop icon Taylor Swift are dating.
The couple became immediate NFL and pop culture obsessions, with Swift – who scored five People’s Choice nominations — attending several Chiefs games this season.
Without mention of that, Kelce said Wednesday: “How am I on this?”
Jason, 36, then joked to listeners about rigging the voting to secure Travis the award.
It was one of the more light-hearted moments of Wednesday’s show, as Jason touched on the speculation he could be calling it a career after 13 seasons in Philadelphia.
The All-Pro center was at the center of retirement buzz Tuesday following the Eagles’ disappointing 32-9 wild-card playoff loss to the Buccaneers on Monday night in Tampa.
“I didn’t announce what I was doing on purpose, despite, I guess, what’s been leaked to the media,” Jason said.
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“… I just don’t think you’re in a position after a game like that to really make that decision, I just don’t, there’s too much emotion in the moment, there’s too much going down in the moment to really fully grasp that decision.”
Travis, who is currently preparing for the Chiefs’ divisional-round playoff game against the Bills, said, “We’ll all be on the edge of our f–king seat waiting on what decision you end up making, big guy, I promise you that.”