Travis Kelce offered a two-word response to his 2023 People’s Selection Awards nomination for Athlete of the 12 months.
“F–king nonsense,” the Chiefs tight end said on Wednesday’s episode of the “Latest Heights” podcast, which he co-hosts with older brother and Eagles center, Jason Kelce.
“What did I do to get Athlete of the 12 months? I did ‘SNL’ (Saturday Night Live).”
Kelce, 34, joins a stacked list of nominees within the category that features 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 call a couple of accolades — Kelce has criticized his play throughout much of the yr and was just shy of eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards this season, something he has done every season since 2016.
Off the sphere, his profile skyrocketed within the second half of 2023 when it was revealed he and pop icon Taylor Swift are dating.
The couple became immediate NFL and popular culture obsessions, with Swift – who scored five People’s Selection 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 certainly one of the more light-hearted moments of Wednesday’s show, as Jason touched on the speculation he might be calling it a profession after 13 seasons in Philadelphia.
The All-Pro center was at the middle 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 used to be doing on purpose, despite, I suppose, what’s been leaked to the media,” Jason said.
“… I just don’t think you’re ready after a game like that to essentially make that call, I just don’t, there’s an excessive amount of emotion within the moment, there’s an excessive amount of happening within the moment to essentially fully grasp that call.”
Travis, who’s currently preparing for the Chiefs’ divisional-round playoff game against the Bills, said, “We’ll all be on the sting of our f–king seat waiting on what decision you find yourself making, big guy, I promise you that.”