Ex-Teammate Spills On Travis Kelce’s College Life Including A Marijuana Suspension

Travis Kelce may now be one of the NFL’s biggest stars, with three Super Bowl rings and a headline-making romance with Taylor Swift, but his path to greatness was anything but straightforward. From late-night sing-alongs and Mario Kart marathons in college to a year-long suspension that nearly derailed his career, Travis Kelce’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and relentless charm.

Despite his charisma, Travis Kelce's path wasn’t always clear. In 2011, heading into what should have been his prime college years, his major was still listed as “Exploratory Studies," essentially for students who hadn’t chosen a direction yet. Worse, his career was almost cut short in 2010 after he tested positive for marijuana, costing him an entire season. His older brother, Jason Kelce, stepped in to help negotiate his return. The responsibility then fell on assistant coach David Johnson to keep Kelce accountable.

“He had to communicate with me… he would let me know what he was doing and where he was,” Johnson recalled, per Daily Mail. “To make sure he didn’t stay out too late or do anything that wasn’t going to be good for him and for his future.”

While he was still figuring out his future on the field, Travis Kelce's charm often stole the spotlight off of it. “At midnight, he’d be singing ‘O Holy Night’ or ‘Frosty the Snowman,’” former teammate Danny Milligan, who remembered Kelce even taking part in a singing challenge against a Vanderbilt player during a trip to Memphis in 2011, recalled. “I think he ended up winning,” Milligan said. “So dating Taylor Swift… maybe it makes sense. Maybe she’s grooming him [for a duet].”

Kelce had arrived at Cincinnati as a quarterback but was soon shifted to tight end, a move that took years to pay off. By 2012, his fifth and final year, he finally began to dominate at the position. As Johnson put it, “He started to separate himself from the other guys.” That breakout season set the stage for the Kansas City Chiefs to draft him in 2013, beginning one of the most successful careers the league has ever seen at the position.

Fast forward to today, and Travis Kelce is a surefire Hall of Famer. With his larger-than-life personality, generational talent, and deep connection to Chiefs Kingdom, he has built a career that coach Andy Reid recently summed up simply, “He’s built a great legacy.”

Now entering what many consider the final chapters of his playing days, Kelce isn’t concerned about classes, curfews, or position changes. He’s focused on just one thing. “A Super Bowl,” Kelce told GQ. “It’s the only goal. It’s every goal.” After all, winning is the only way left for Kelce to add to an already glittering résumé, one that has carried him from college mishaps and midnight carols to NFL dominance and pop-culture superstardom alongside the world’s biggest singer.

On August 26, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift revealed their engagement with a cheeky Instagram post that read, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” adding a dynamite emoji that appeared to nod to their fan-favorite nickname, “TNT.”

Their inner circle didn’t have to wait long to celebrate the milestone. “Taylor and Travis’ friends are thrilled for them, and a lot of them found out about the engagement right after it happened,” a source told PEOPLE. “Keeping it quiet wasn’t easy, but now that it’s out, everyone’s just excited.”

Just days after proposing to Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce was back on the field, and making headlines for reasons beyond football stats. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end kicked off his 2025 season on Friday night in São Paulo against the Los Angeles Chargers, but the game quickly turned tense in the third quarter.

Following a two-yard run by running back Kareem Hunt, Kelce got into a scuffle with Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart. Video clips shared across social media showed Kelce shoving Tart, who retaliated by smacking the front of Kelce’s helmet with force.

The tight end threw his hands in the air in visible disbelief as referees flagged the play. Tart was hit with a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty, though officials ultimately ruled that the slap wasn’t enough to warrant an ejection.