Patrick Mahomes Says Travis Kelce's New Look Is Taylor Swift's Influence

Travis Kelce was sporting a noticeably different look when he showed up to training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this month. Instead of his usual buzzcut fade and thick beard, the 34-year-old tight end has been sporting longer hair and a closer shave with a mustache. And according to his teammate Patrick Mahomes, he has his girlfriend of one year, Taylor Swift to thank for that.

Mahomes made the comment during a SiriusXM Town Hall with the Chiefs hosted by sportscaster Bruce Murray and former NFL quarterback Alex Smith on Tuesday. When the subject of the "old man" came up—as Mahomes often cracks jokes about Kelce being one of the older players on the team—Smith noted: "He was like real crotchety out there this morning, mustache, ornery, last one out there."

"I’ve been trying to get him to grow his hair out and all of a sudden Taylor gets him to do it. I'm just like..." the 28-year-old quipped with slight frustration in his voice.

But perhaps it wasn't all Swift's doing. Kelce's fade became a topic of conversation earlier this year prior to Super Bowl LVIII, when The New York Times published an article claiming that barbers were being inundated with requests for "the Travis Kelce," despite the cut being a staple of Black barbershops for decades. The timing was particularly disastrous, as it coincided with the beginning of Black History Month.

And when asked if he thought he was responsible for the surge in popularity during a press conference, however, Kelce unequivocally shut down the chatter.

"It's absolutely ridiculous. And to do it on February 1, to throw me to the wolves like that? That was messed up, man," he lamented. "I don't want anything to do with that one. I got a good fade if you need one, though. It's a two on top, a nice high to mid-fade with a taper in the back, but I didn't invent that, I just asked for it."

If anything, Kelce is looking more Ted Lasso these days, and perhaps that's not a bad thing.