Facts About Super Bowl Siblings Jason and Travis Kelce
Jason and Travis Kelce's Mom Says the Super Bowl Opponents Got Into "a Lot of Fights" as Kids
Jason and Travis Kelce grew up eating dinners together, playing with the family dog in their yard, and — like many siblings — getting into tussles. Now, though, the pair are facing off against each other on a much bigger scale: on opposing teams in the 2023 Super Bowl. They'll be the first sibling duo to ever do so.
According to their mother, Donna Kelce, both will make formidable opponents. "I just don't know," she said when asked who she thinks will win the Feb. 12 game in a Feb. 9 interview with Time. "If they were playing another team, I would say each of them were. It's the team that makes the least amount of mistakes. You just have to wait on that one."
Jason, 35, is a centre on the Philadelphia Eagles, while his brother, 33-year-old Travis, is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. Here's what to know about the two brothers.
Where Did Jason and Travis Kelce Grow Up?
The boys spent their childhoods in Cleveland Heights, OH. Their father, Ed Kelce, worked as a representative in the steel industry, per Sportscasting, while their mom was a banking executive. The boys grew up playing tons of sports, including lacrosse and hockey, and also enjoyed time with their family dog, Belle. They were also voracious eaters, unsurprisingly, and "the refrigerator was always packed, but it didn't last more than a day or so," Donna said before the "NFL Honours" show on Feb. 9. "Whole chickens, they would eat lots of pork, ribs. I'd have leftovers in the refrigerator and it never lasted past the day."
Both boys went on to play college football at the University of Cincinnati before being drafted by the NFL. Donna and Ed divorced after 25 years of marriage, shortly following the boys' college graduations, according to Hello. The family remain close, though, and today, Ed lives a mile away from Jason and his wife. Both parents will attend the Super Bowl.
Were Jason and Travis Kelce Always Competitive?
The brothers have always loved to win — particularly against each other. "Everything was a competition. It was a competition to see who could get to the table first, who could get to the front seat of the car — this is just typical sibling rivalry. They egged each other on," Donna said in a February interview on "Today." "Travis was alway trying to get at his older brother to pay attention to him, so there were a lot of fights. That's just the way boys are."
Donna has detailed her sons' intense sibling rivalry before. "There were a lot of fights," she said in a 2020 interview with Sports Illustrated. "There were a lot of punches thrown. It all just stemmed from somebody being better than the other one, and the other one not being able to deal with it."
Do Jason and Travis Kelce Have a Podcast Together?
The brothers may be opponents on the field, but they seem to work well together, even collaborating on a podcast called "New Heights With Jason and Travis Kelce." The weekly podcast shares insights into the NFL and their own lives. They sat down with their parents in a Feb. 6 episode, and their dad shared stories about coaching the boys as they grew up, while their mom, once again, insisted she wasn't rooting for one team over the other.
Is Jason Kelce Married, and Is Travis Kelce Single?
Jason is married to Kylie McDevitt, and the pair tied the knot in 2018. They have two daughters — Wyatt Elizabeth, who was born on Oct. 2, 2019, and Elliotte Ray, born on March 4, 2021. The couple are also expecting their third child, who is due any day, according to People. In fact, McDevitt has said her due date is so soon that she plans on bringing her ob-gyn to the game. "That could be a super Kelce Bowl," Jason joked in a February episode of "New Heights With Jason and Travis Kelce." "If she has a baby in the stadium, it's officially scripted."
Meanwhile, Travis had been in an on-and-off relationship with reporter Kayla Nicole since 2017, according to People, but he's now single. "I'm in the free market right now. I'm out there just enjoying life, focussed on my profession," Travis said in a January episode of the podcast "The Pivot."
Have Jason and Travis Kelce Both Won a Super Bowl?
Jason was playing for the Eagles in 2018 when the team beat the New England Patriots. Meanwhile, Travis won in 2020 when the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers. According to Donna, the fact that they've both won before takes some of the pressure off for her during their face-off this weekend. "This one will be pure joy, knowing they made it and that one of their dreams came true," she told Time.
Apparently, she added, the brothers always dreamed of playing on the same team in a Super Bowl. Their original goal was to "play with each other, on the same team, and it would be the Browns. That's what they always talked about," she said. "But that didn't happen and it turned out well for both of them."
Ahead of the Super Bowl on Feb. 12, check out some photos of the brothers then and now.
