Travis Kelce was crowned Athlete of the Year at the People’s Choice Awards on Sunday after upsetting his nomination in January.
In an episode of new heights In a podcast with his brother Jason, Kelce called his nomination “fucking stupid.” The Kansas City Chiefs star then cited that he did nothing to be considered for the honor.
‘What did I do to be Athlete of the Year? I did SNL,’ he said on the show. ‘How am I doing in this? [list]?’
However, Kelce received the award among a star-studded list of nominees. Kelce had been nominated alongside Coco Gauff, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Sabrina Ionescu, Simone Biles and Stephen Curry.
Kelce did not attend the awards ceremony at the Bakrer Hangar in Santa Monica, California. After winning his third Super Bowl with the Chiefs on Feb. 11, Kelce has been celebrating much of his time in Missouri.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce named Athlete of the Year at People’s Choice Awards
Kelce previously shaded his nomination, noting that he did nothing more than appear on SNL.
Kelce’s relationship with pop star Taylor Swift dominated headlines since September 2023
Despite feeling underqualified, Kelce’s relationship with pop star Taylor Swift may have given him popularity votes to win the nomination. After going public with their relationship in September, Swift and Kelce dominated headlines for most of the NFL season.
Just weeks after increasing her Grammy tally to 14, Swift was voted in four categories on Sunday. However, she was unable to attend the ceremony as her Eras de ella tour resumes in Australia.
On the same episode of New Heights where Travis ruled out that he deserved a nomination, Jason urged his fans to “rig” the vote for his brother.
“92 per center, let’s fix this,” Jason says. “Let’s start voting for the Big Yeti for the People’s Choice Award, Athlete of the Year.”
‘Do fans decide who wins this?’ Travis asked in response.
“It all makes a lot of sense when you put it like that,” he continued. ‘I want a prize [where] Jason is voted the sexiest man of the year. [and] First Team AP All-Pro.’