Jason and Donna Kelce arrive in Kansas City to celebrate Travis’ birthday – but it’s unclear if Taylor Swift will join them

Taylor Swift fans are eager to see whether the pop icon will touchdown in Kansas City today to celebrate boyfriend Travis Kelce’s birthday.  But the Chiefs tight end will at least turn 35 with his brother Jason and his parents Ed and Donna, who were seen shortly after touching down in Kansas City alongside Jason’s wife Kylie.

The siblings will kick things off Saturday afternoon by hosting the second annual Kelce Car Jam, a showcase of muscle cars and swish rides belonging to Kelce and his motoring enthusiast buddies.  Fans will be hoping to catch a glimpse of the three-time Super Bowl winner’s 1970 Chevy Chevelle – the timeless classic he drove away from a game last October with Swift, 35, in the passenger seat.  Proceeds from the charity block party are going to Kelce’s 87 & Running Foundation which raises funds for needy kids in Kansas City and Cleveland.

Donna Kelce is also in Kansas City to celebrate her youngest son’s 35th birthday on Saturday

The recently retired former Eagles center touched down after flying in on his private jet

Speculation about Taylor heading to Kansas City has swirled all week with a rumor circling about her hiring out a popular barbecue joint Wednesday night for a pre-birthday celebration.  There have been no confirmed sightings of the Bad Blood singer, however, who has made considerable efforts to mask her flight details and whereabouts since the foiled terror attack at her Vienna concert in August.

Swift wasn’t there to watch the Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers 17-10 last Sunday. But, according to one well-placed source, her absence is no indication that her romance with Kelce is cooling off.  Swift simply doesn’t see much of her boyfriend when he’s playing away games and this season is expected to mostly stick to attending the Chiefs’ home games at Arrowhead Stadium, potentially including Monday night’s clash with the Saints.  That arrangement means they can instead enjoy quality quiet time at the sprawling $6million home Kelce bought last year in an exclusive Kansas City suburb.

Jason Kelce was joined by his wife Kylie and his father Ed (r) in Kansas City on Saturday

                               The former Eagles center and Kylie Kelce were seeing carrying luggage into their hotel

Set in the manicured grounds of a gated community and far from the public gaze it is the perfect bolt-hole for the A-list couple to stage low-key dates, dinners and movie nights.   Kelce and Swift did venture out undetected late last month when swish Kansas City eatery Noka was reportedly closed to the public so they could enjoy an intimate catch-up.

According to Deux Moi, ‘The restaurant was claiming it was closed for maintenance but it’s the same restaurant where Brittany Mahomes had her birthday dinner not very long ago.’  That came on the heels of a bumpy period for Kelce and Swift, who recently celebrated one year of having made their romance official with the anniversary of the singer’s first public attendance of a game at Arrowhead Stadium on September 24.   Only a couple of weeks earlier they were forced to defend themselves against allegations that the whole relationship was a PR sham following an alleged leak of documents purporting to be from Kelce’s public relations.

Full Scope PR engaged lawyers to ‘initiate proceedings against the individuals or entities responsible for the unlawful and injurious forgery of documents,’ that appeared to offer a comprehensive strategy for Swift and Kelce’s impending breakup, even giving the date of the supposed event as September 18.

Three days after the leak made headlines, they attended the US Open with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, 29, and wife Brittany, also 29.  Kelce and Swift appeared at pains to quash the notion that they were anything other than the real thing, drawing attention for their very public displays of affection as they rocked out to The Darkness’s, ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’.

On the field meanwhile, Kelce has thus far had a poor season, leading fans and pundits to question whether his numerous off-field activities are a distraction to his game.  Former ESPN analyst Todd McShay is one who voiced his belief that the star is out of shape, having spent his offseason focused not on training, but on Swift. McShay didn’t mince his words recently on The Ryen Russillo Podcast.  ‘Every show I watch, every pregame show, halftime show, postgame show, weekday show, every broadcast I watch for the last few weeks, it’s like are we not allowed to say that he’s out of shape, that he’s been partying all offseason?’ he said.

‘He’s been jet-setting around with the most famous person probably in the entire world, that he’s drinking, going to the US Open… take a picture from preseason 2022 and then take a picture preseason 2024, they’re barely the same human being.’  It’s no secret that Kelce had the busiest offseason of his career, if not of any NFL player. His numerous brand deals and investments would be enough to keep anyone busy.

He and brother Jason signed a deal with Amazon Wondery in August for their New Heights podcast, said to be worth $100m across three years.  Then there’s the travel – Germany, London, Amsterdam, Singapore… the list goes on – to see Swift in concert as photo after photo showed Kelce, often with a drink in hand, lapping up the love and the limelight.

But in his four games so far this season Kelce has had just 15 catches for 158 yards and no touchdowns, much slower than his usual dominant pace.  Some pointed to him having a massive target on his back thanks to his status and prowess, claiming that he has been the focus of hounding by linebackers and defensive backs. But others noted that did not stop him getting into the end zone and putting up huge numbers in the past.