The Chiefs tight ends’ surname continues to baffle the internet — and his fellow players
Even Travis Kelce’s teammates are still learning how to properly pronounce his last name.
In a video shared by the NFL on Instagram, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones can be seen discussing the correct pronunciation of the tight end’s surname while keeping warm on the sidelines.
“So y’all know it’s not even Travis Kelce?” Jones says to his teammates, pronouncing “Kelce” like “Kel-see.”
He then reveals the true articulation, “Kels” — much to the players’ surprise.
“F—in’ crazy, right?” Jones adds.
In the comments section of the post — captioned “@stonecoldjones95 making sure everyone knows the real pronunciation of ‘Kelce’. ” — users weighed in on the pronunciation.
“Its whatever Jason says tbh,” one person wrote of Travis’ brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Another user wrote that they’ll follow Travis’ girlfriend Taylor Swift’s lead: “Okay but what is (Taylor’s Version) of preference? I’m going with that.”
Alongside the sideline clip of Jones, the NFL also resurfaced a clip of Jason, 36, and Travis, 34, discussing their surname on their podcast, New Heights, with their dad, Ed Kelce.
“Should we go by ‘Kels’ or ‘Kels-ee,'” Jason asks his dad in the clip, and Ed responds: “Do whatever you want. I did.”
But Travis — who says he’s “gonna go by both” — cleared the air about his name before the NFL star brothers launched their podcast.
During a 2021 appearance on Barstool Sports’ Bussin’ with the Boys podcast, the Chiefs tight end said, “My real name is ‘Kels,’ so I mean I just kind of roll with the punches.”
After a clip of Travis clarifying the pronunciation made its rounds on social media, some of his teammates shared their reactions — including Jones.
“I’ve been saying Travis Kelce(y) the whole time. My apologies @tkelce,” the defensive tackle wrote on X (formerly Twitter) at the time, to which Travis responded: “Not trippin at all… you can actually keep calling me that.”
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At the time, Chiefs quarterback and Travis’ pal Patrick Mahomes also posted about the revelation, writing, “You learn something new everyday,” as former NFL star Tyreek Hill replied: “so I’ve been saying his name wrong this entire time .”
Replying to Hill, Travis clarified that he’ll take both pronunciations: “You’ve been sayin it right man, I go by both…. One’s my real name and one’s a nick name.”