Why Travis Kelce’s suspension from football had a surprising twist

Travis Kelce is now one of the greatest tight end players in the National Football League but he almost lost that chance when he was suspended from playing during college.

In 2010 he missed the entire college season for the University of Cincinnati after he failed a drug test when he tested positive for marijuana.

That then became a red flag in 2013 when teams began their draft plans, and he ended up being drafted in the third round by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now, Travis has recalled those months when he was unable to play and how it ultimately “worked out perfectly” because the suspension led to him changing football positions.

“You probably got drafted an entire round later than you should have,” Jason said on their New Heights podcast on April 30 adding: “I just think it’s funny sometimes looking back and there are all these concerns about Travis Kelce, and everybody, whoever knew you, knew you were a great kid. You just had a mess up with weed. Sorry. And then all of a sudden teams aren’t picking you for it.”

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However, Travis added that it “worked out perfectly”.

In 2023 he told the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast that the suspension “kicked me into the tight end room,” because prior to the interlude in his career he was playing the quarterback position.

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He is now a three-time Super Bowl winner with the Chiefs, and has formed one of the greatest partnerships on the field with Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

Elsewhere on the podcast, Jason hinted that he believes the teams should focus less on character concerns and more on the football talents of the players in the draft.

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“I just want everybody that drops in the draft for whatever character concerns, if it ever pans out, they should just do that exact same character concern,” Jason suggested.

“Like, you should have just walked into signing your second deal with a blunt in your hand smoking it as a sign of the paper. I’m not condoning smoking weed, but unless you sign a multimillion-year deal you wanna say ‘[expletive] you’ to all the people that doubted you because you did smoke weed.”

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Travis has made very few public appearances in the last few months, laying low ever since the Chiefs’ unexpected loss in the 2025 Super Bowl to the Philadelphia Eagles.

His girlfriend  Taylor Swift has similarly stayed out of the public eye in recent months in recent months, however reports have suggested that the two have been pictured spending time in Boca Raton, Florida.

In late April however Travis and Jason were seen competing at the 2025 8AM Golf Invitational, Justin Timberlake’s golf brand’s tournament, in Las Vegas.

In a video shared by the brand on social media, Travis is seen playing golf with Justin and Michael Phelps, as well as enjoying casino time with the boys.