Travis Kelce’s trainer credits Taylor Swift for helping fuel Chiefs star’s big season

You would think that after hundreds of catches and thousands of yards gained in the NFL, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce wouldn’t have been able to surprise football observers in his 14th season.

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But Kelce, who turns 37 next week, leads the league with 155 yards after the catch this season and is tied for first with the most receptions for 40-plus yards.

“I don’t know if Travis Kelce went over to Europe and got stem cells in his joints or what, but the way he’s moving looks different,” a Chiefs fan wrote on X. “Maybe Paul Rudd told him where the fountain of youth is located.”

A reporter covering the Raiders also said Kelce seemed to have found the fountain of youth. The X account Americano a lo Mexicano quipped that Kelce didn’t actually locate a treasure that evaded Ponce de León, but that he found something even better: true love.

“We don’t know what Taylor Swift did to Travis Kelce during this offseason,” it wrote in a translated message. “But Grandpa is completely rejuvenated.”

That was meant as a joke, but Kelce’s trainer Andrew Spruill believes there is truth to the notion that Swift has helped the Chiefs star. Everyone wants to look good at their wedding, including Kelce who tied the knot with Swift in July. So perhaps Kelce had extra motivation to work out in the offseason, Spruill said.

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Not long after the ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York, Kelce’s attention turned to football. And he was back at Johnny O’s Gymnasium in Florida, as Spruill told the Wall Street Journal.

If Kelce looks faster, it is not an illusion.

Quoting the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the WSJ story noted that Kelce’s average route speed this season is 11.68 miles per hour. That’s his fastest since 2022.

It’s translated to a renaissance season for Kelce. Tony Villani, another trainer who works with Kelce in Florida, gave some credit to Swift, as well.

“We know if you’re putting a good woman in your life and cutting out some of the nonsense, you’re probably taking care of yourself a little better,” Villani told the Wall Street Journal’s Andrew Beaton. “Good surroundings create good outcomes.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2026 at 10:04 AM with the headline “Travis Kelce’s trainer credits Taylor Swift for helping fuel Chiefs star’s big season.”

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