Travis Kelce fought back tears as he detailed the “hard reality” he’s faced since losing out the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy in the Super Bowl.
In a new clip of his and brother Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, the тιԍнт end, 35, touched on his team’s disappointing performance that saw the Philadelphia Eagles emerge victorious over the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.
“Just wasn’t our day,” the 3-time Super Bowl champ said. “Couldn’t find a lick of momentum. I’m kicking myself for some of the tiny, tiny decisions I made on the field.”
“I wasn’t the best that I could be in motivating my guys and keeping my guys calm, cool and collected and I put a lot of that on myself, you know, as the guy that’s been in the building for 12 years and seen a lot of football and seen a situation just like this, in the Super Bowl.”
“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” he went on as his voice began to shake. “It’s a hard reality, man.”
While the NFL star didn’t address the ongoing retirement rumors in the clip, he did apologize to the Chiefs fans for the loss.
“I love my teammates, I love my coaches. Chiefs Kingdom, I’m sorry for how it ended. I have a beautiful life man,” he continued.
“I have loved ones, I have the most amazing family in the world that supports me in everything I do and they were all there, cheering me on and hoping for the best on Sunday,” he said of his cheer squad, which also includes his girlfriend Taylor Swift.
“I wish I had made better decisions early on to help my guy Pat (Mahomes) out and help my team find that momentum and that confidence,” he said. “But you know, I just have to tip my hat to the Eagles.”
After a visibly upset Travis said he wishes “things had went different,” his brother and former Eagles center, 37, pointed out some impressive stats from Sunday’s game.
Jason, who retired from the NFL last year, said that Travis had set a new record for the most catches in Super Bowl history.
Kelce finished the regular season with career lows in yardage (863) and touchdowns (three), and the athlete had zero receptions in the first half.
However, his four receptions for 39 yards against the Birds mean he now boasts a total of 35 across his Super Bowl appearances — placing him above Jerry Rice who racked up 33.
“You broke the most catches in Super Bowl history,” Jason said. “I know you don’t probably care that much about it right now because of the way the game went.”
“You have so many records at this point… but at the end of the day it’s just another thing that cements you as one of the best players ever to play in the NFL,” he added.
Still, it appears as though it’s too soon for Travis to celebrate his accomplishment, as he added, “That’s the last thing that I care about right now.”
The Chiefs star briefly spoke about his team’s crushing loss during a conversation with reporters in the locker room after the game.
“Hats off to the Eagles, man,” the 3-time Super Bowl champ told reporters in the locker room after the game in a video shared on X. “They got after us, all three phases.”
“[We] couldn’t get it going offensively,” went on. “I mean they just got after us on all three phases and then on top of that, you know, turnovers, penalties, playing behind the sticks on offense.”
“We just couldn’t find that spark. We couldn’t find that momentum,” he said. “We haven’t played that bad all year. You don’t lose like that without everything going bad.”
Still, Kelce said that he and his team never threw in the towel and fought tooth and nail till the very end.
