How Patrick Mahomes Feels About Travis Kelce (And His Romance With Taylor Swift)

NFL players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce both play for the Kansas City Chiefs and have a close bond. "I honestly feel like he's my brother," Mahomes told NFL Live on ESPN in November 2023. 

He's got nothing but nice things to say about Kelce's girlfriend, Taylor Swift, too. During a press conference a couple of months earlier, Mahomes was asked if he and Swift had a chance to meet yet. He confirmed that they had, saying: "She was really cool, good people. But ... I'm gonna let them have their privacy and just keep it moving."  

Kelce's status as a pop culture mainstay of the modern era tripled when he and music icon Taylor Swift entered a relationship. Mahomes has not fed into the frenzy surrounding his friend's relationship, though. Referring to the buzz around the Chiefs following Swift's attendance at their games, NFL Live on ESPN interviewer Jeff Darlington asked, "The attention on the Chiefs right now: does it feel any bigger than, say, winning the Super Bowl twice?" Mahomes admitted that it felt the same and that, while Swift and Kelce's relationship is "a huge deal," to him it's all business as usual. "I think it becomes a bigger deal to the fanbases than it does to the guys that are actually in the building," he said. 

In his interview with NFL Live, Patrick Mahomes continued: "I've been lucky enough to meet Taylor and see how good of a person she is. I think you understand why it's not become a distraction or anything like that, because everybody cares about being the best they can be every day." Mahomes also teased that perhaps he'd attend a concert in Europe when the football season ended, likely alluding to the international leg of Swift's Eras Tour.

It looks like Swift has struck up a close friendship with Mahomes' wife, too, with many of her best BFF moments with Brittany Mahomes going viral. It's a good thing that everyone gets along so well, especially considering just how close Mahomes is with Travis Kelce. He said that it feels like their respective families are "one family" and affirmed that their sibling-like bond is there whether they're playing football together or not.

Mahomes added: "He doesn't try to be this Travis Kelce, 'Saturday Night Live' guy. He just wants to be the guy that comes to play football every single day and I think that's what makes him so special and why guys really gravitate towards him." Mahomes also talked about their compatibility as football players and how that helps them work together well. The friendship they have when they aren't playing football helps with that too.

In a 2022 interview with "Today," Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were asked about their friendship's origins. "The friendship started just 'cause we're very similar, where we wanna win," Mahomes said. "But we like to enjoy life too." They work hard but have fun at the same time. 

The players discussed how their close relationship in day-to-day life translates to understanding each other on the football field. When interviewer Craig Melvin's son, Del, got to ask a question, Mahomes listed the qualities he seeks in a friend, one being "loyalty." Mahomes then commended Travis for having all those qualities.

The brotherly feeling between friends is mutual. When Travis was interviewed by KMBC News 9 prior to the 2023 Super Bowl — when the Chiefs were playing Travis' brother's team, the Philadelphia Eagles — Travis told the outlet, "[Mahomes is] my brother man. I'm playing against a brother and I'm playing with one. It's a pretty cool scenario to be in."  Travis was in Mahomes' wedding party, so if things work out between Travis and Taylor Swift, it wouldn't be surprising if Mahomes returns the favor as one of the groomsmen for his "brother" Travis.