DONNA KELCE SITS DOWN TO DISCUSS THE LIFELONG COMPETITIVENESS BETWEEN TRAVIS AND JASON
KMBC sat down for a one-on-one interview with the highest-profile mom in America
She’s the first mom ever to have her children face off in an NFL super bowl as players.
The mother of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce has stolen the show ahead of the big game in Arizona for her sweet interaction with her world-famous sons.
KMBC sat down for a one-on-one interview with Donna Kelce to discuss the division and unity within the family.
“They’ve always competed with each other. I think that’s why they play at the highest level now,” Donna Kelce said.
Jason is two years older than Travis.
Donna says Travis would spar to get his brother’s attention.
“First person to the car, first person up the stairs, into the bed, you know, first person to the dinner table. It was always a competition,” Donna Kelce said.
This super bowl, mama Kelce is staying neutral. Her combined Eagles and Chiefs shoes and jersey say all you need to know.
“Obviously, I want each boy to do the best that they can, put it all out on the field so that they have no regrets,” Donna Kelce said.
She says she never pushed her boys into sports. It came from within them, and she encourages parents to listen to their kids.
“Whatever they love to do, that’s what they you should try to support them because that is what they’re going to be good at,” Donna Kelce said.
There have been more than 370 sets of brothers to play in the NFL.
NFL brothers Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce share a close relationship both on and off the field
Brothers Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce are on their way to becoming NFL legends: Travis is a record-breaking tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jason is the fan-favorite center of the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, their combined success has created some issues for their parents — such as what team to root for when they face off against each other and how to make it to two playoff games in one day. Travis and Jason’s mother, Donna Kelce, figured out the latter in 2022 when she traveled 1,300 miles in one day to see both her sons play in their NFL Wild Card games.
The brothers faced off in the Super Bowl for the first time when the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs played each other on Feb. 12, 2023. Travis and the Chiefs ultimately defeated Jason and the Eagles 38-35 in the historic match-up. As soon as the game ended, Jason gave his little brother a hug and the two seemingly shared a few encouraging words.
Later, Travis got emotional when speaking to the press about his brother following the win. “There’s nothing you can really say to a loved one in a situation like that,” he said while fighting back tears. “You joke around all the time and say you want to beat your brother on the biggest stage, but it’s a weird feeling.” He added, “There’s nothing I can say to him other than I love him and he played a hell of a year, a hell of a season.”
In November 2023, Travis and Jason’s teams faced off again during regular season play. The Eagles beat the Chiefs 21-17 — a feat they haven’t achieved since 2009.
From their childhood in Ohio to their decade (and counting) in the NFL together, here’s everything to know about Jason and Travis Kelce.
Jason and Travis are nearly two years apart
There are exactly 23 months between Jason and Travis Kelce: Jason was born on Nov. 5, 1987, and Travis arrived on Oct. 5, 1989. The two grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where their father Ed worked in steel and their mother Donna worked in banking, according to Sports Illustrated. Raising two boys so close in age wasn’t always easy, Donna revealed in an interview with FOX 4 Kansas City.
“It’s a lot of broken windows, a lot of, you know, crashes, a lot of fighting … and Travis was always the one that was the instigator because he wanted his brother’s attention,” she shared.
Jason echoed similar sentiments about what it was like growing up with his younger brother Travis. “Two-year age difference, so growing up, in typical younger brother fashion, Travis found all the other ways to get the upper hand — and that was the most annoying thing ever,” Jason said in an interview with NFL Films in 2018.
Besides annoying each other, their close age gap also led to a natural competition developing between the two. “They were very, very competitive from a very early age,” Donna told FOX 4 Kansas City.
“There were a lot of fights,” she elaborated to Sports Illustrated in 2020. “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.”
But the competitiveness between the brothers wasn’t all bad, according to Travis. “I think the competitiveness that we had growing up is very big on why we’re even in the NFL in the first place,” he told NFL Films.
The Kelce brothers played multiple sports in high school: They both played football and baseball, and Jason played hockey in the winters while Travis played basketball. But when it came to college, Jason attended the University of Cincinnati and walked on to their football team as a linebacker before becoming an offensive lineman, Sports Illustrated reported.
Two years later, despite having multiple scholarship offers for football, Travis decided to follow his brother and play at Cincinnati. “Being two years behind him, I’ve naturally always kind of followed his footsteps,” he said in an interview with NFL Films. “Being on his team, knowing that he’s already going through this system — it just made the most sense.”
But Travis’ college football career was almost cut short when, after his freshman year in 2009, he failed a drug test. It resulted in him having his scholarship revoked and being kicked off the football team — until Jason stepped in. Jason had Travis move in with him and some other teammates — “So I could keep an eye on him,” Jason told the Philadelphia Inquirer — and also spoke to the head coach about letting Travis back on the team. His big-brother efforts worked.
“I’ve never really asked how he got me back on the team,” Travis said to Sports Illustrated. “That was my brother just being a big brother, looking out for me every step of the way and fighting for the success story.”
