Travis Kelce at 35: Chiefs icon still riding Taylor Swift wave and trying his luck on TV as another birthday arrives – and there’s even more history to chase in the NFL

As his last birthday arrived, 34-year-old Travis Kelce rode the wave of his new romance with Taylor Swift, just weeks after the pop megastar set the internet on fire by heading to one of his Kansas City for the first time Watch Chiefs games. .

And now, turning 35 this weekend, the Chiefs legend is still riding that wave.

Not only is he considered by many to be the greatest tight end in NFL history, but Kelce now stands tall as one half of the most famous celebrity couple in the world, as well as a promising newcomer to the TV world.

Despite turning another year older – and even facing calls to retire following his sluggish early form for the Chiefs last month – there’s still plenty of history for him to chase on the football field this season.

So with the Swift relationship still going strong, his new small screen career taking off and a record-breaking third straight Super Bowl in his sights, DailyMail.com took a look at where Travis stands on his 35th birthday.

The Swift Effect

Considering what he accomplished on the court and his charismatic personality off it, Kelce was already a household name in America before Swift came along.

Winning two Super Bowls, one of them against his own brother in unprecedented circumstances, as an integral member of Kansas City’s offense, meant the tight end was a familiar figure even to casual football fans.

But his relationship with the singer has catapulted him to even greater heights.

Kelce had just under three million Instagram followers before Taylor arrived at Arrowhead in September 2023 for her first-ever Chiefs game. He now has almost seven million.

His award-winning New Heights podcast with brother Jason has also lived up to its name in the past year, with a 170 percent increase in YouTube subscribers (2.42 million) and a 303 percent increase in Instagram followers (2.42 million). 7 million) since September 2023.

Kelce is now one half of the most famous celebrity couple in the world, next to Swift

His popularity has skyrocketed since the pop star first showed up at Arrowhead last year

Kelce is now at a new level of stardom, and his and his brother Jason’s podcast is capitalizing on it

The NFL has also benefited from increased attention on Travis over the past year, with a record 202.4 million people tuning in to see him celebrate with Taylor in Las Vegas after winning last season’s Super Bowl with the Chiefs.

On his 35th birthday, Kelce now lays claim to being one of the most famous figures in popular culture around the world, transcending stardom as simply an all-time great NFL player.

New ventures

Then again, Kelce wasn’t exactly short of TV opportunities before romance with Swift blossomed.

It was almost impossible to avoid him on your screen if you tuned into a major sports network in the US, with the three-time Super Bowl winner enjoying more commercials than hot dinners in recent years.

He also starred as the host of the hit late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live in March 2023, almost a month after defeating older brother Jason in Super Bowl LVII, before returning to the program in October, along with Swift.

But now that he’s turning 35, Kelce has some exciting adventures ahead on both the small and big screen.

The NFL icon has made his acting debut in Ryan Murphy’s new horror show “Grotesquerie,” which premiered last week on FX.

After not appearing in the first two episodes, his character made his first appearance in the third on Wednesday night, sending fans into a frenzy on social media.

Travis has also ventured into television while capitalizing on his new status as a global star

The Chiefs player has made his acting debut in Ryan Murphy’s new horror series ‘Grotesquerie’

Kelce also stars as the host of the upcoming Prime game show “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?”

As the commercials continue to roll in and his acting career takes off, Kelce will also try his luck at a presentation on the new game show ‘Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?’

The show, which premieres on Amazon Prime on October 16 with three opening episodes, offers a fun twist on the popular “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” series, in which contestants answered elementary school questions while being helped by 5th grade students in hopes of winning a $100,000 prize.

In Kelce’s edition of the show, celebrities will replace schoolchildren on the panel and help contestants answer questions on a range of topics from elementary textbooks.

Although just over two weeks before the first three episodes air on Prime, the opening trailer for ‘Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?’ was labeled as ‘beyond cringe’ by certain fans online.

The trailer showed the Chiefs star – who is paid just $750,000 to host the show – laughing and joking with the contestants and celebrity panel; including former NFL star Chad Ochocinco, comedian Nikki Glaser and media personality Lala Kent.

He’s even landed a role in the upcoming sequel to the iconic 1996 sports film Happy Gilmore

Adam Sandler, who played the fictional golfer Happy Gilmore, confirmed that he will star in the sequel

As if TV jobs weren’t enough, Kelce has also landed a role in the upcoming Happy Gilmore 2 movie.

Adam Sandler, who starred in the iconic golf movie in 1996, recently confirmed that the NFL major will be joining the cast of the highly anticipated sequel, although it is unclear what role he will play.

On the hunt for history

While there is plenty on the table for him outside of football, Kelce is still eyeing even more history in the sport with the Chiefs this season.

After winning a second consecutive Super Bowl – the first time a team has accomplished the feat since the New England Patriots in 2004 – Kansas City has the opportunity to pull off an unprecedented three-peat by going all the way again this season. to go to the extreme.

And as he reaches the final chapter of his NFL career, there are still countless individual records for Kelce to break before he ultimately leaves the sport.

Last weekend he knocked one down in a much-needed strong performance against the LA Chargers, setting the franchise record for receptions after recording his 917th for Kansas City, moving past Tony Gonzalez’s previous record of 916.

The Ohio native is fourth on the all-time scoring charts, needing just 356 yards to edge former LA Chargers icon Antonio Gates into third place. Last season he had a total of 984.

Kelce still has a lot to accomplish in the NFL as the Chiefs eye a historic third straight Super Bowl

Since he may not be in the sport for much longer, it appears he will pull ahead of Gonzalez (15,127) and ex-Dallas Cowboys star Jason Witten (13,046) in first and second place.

But if he can rack up one more receiving touchdown for the Chiefs, Kelce will surpass Witten and have 75 for fifth-most in NFL history.

Jimmy Graham (89), Rob Gronkowski (92), Gonzalez (111) and Gates (116) may nevertheless be out of his reach in the top four.

Either way, Kelce will desperately try to leave as big a legacy as possible in the NFL before hanging up his cleats.

Birthday celebrations

So how is Travis celebrating his 35th birthday this weekend?

The Chiefs won’t be back in action until Monday night, which means he can hang his head a bit on Saturday at his “Kelce Car Jam” event in Kansas City.

The block party-style event will showcase some of the city’s best vehicles, including some of Travis’ personal favorites, with tickets ranging from $87 to $387.

And unusually, Travis will celebrate with big brother Jason on his birthday in October after he retired from the NFL earlier this year.

This year he will be able to celebrate his birthday with brother Jason after his retirement from the NFL

Speak with PEOPLE Last month, Jason said of his younger sibling turning 35: “Well, it’s going to be really fun because Travis’ birthday is on October 5th.

“So I can go in and celebrate his birthday with him, when normally we don’t see each other the season before.”

It remains to be seen whether Swift will attend the event with Kelce on his birthday amid the gap in her Eras Tour schedule, which doesn’t start again until Oct. 18 in Miami.