ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said that his July 3 wedding to music icon Taylor Swift was the best night of his life, as he spoke with reporters Wednesday for the first time since training camp began.

The 36-year-old Kelce, who’s entering his 14th year with the Chiefs, smiled after getting a question about his summer, acknowledging it had been “a fun offseason.”

“Wedding was the best night of my life. I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and had fun with us. That’s about all I really got from that night,” Kelce said. “It was a crazy night. It was full of a lot of celebration. But (now) it’s football, baby.”

Kelce and Swift were married in historic Madison Square Garden in New York as part of a private ceremony. Kelce joked that he’d always wanted to make it to a Knicks playoff game at MSG, but he didn’t get to go with Swift when she attended one in June; Kelce was taking part in Chiefs mandatory minicamp at the time in Kansas City.

“I didn’t get my opportunity to go then,” Kelce said. “So it’s kind of cool to be able to live out my childhood dream of being in that venue and the mecca of all sports venues, being able to get married in there.”

Kelce also reported that Madison Square Garden, in addition to being a perfect place for a private event, also provided an ideal setting in the summer.

“The AC was cooking, baby,” Kelce said with a laugh. “That was the best part.”

Kelce, who turns 37 in October, isn’t taking it easy as a veteran during the Chiefs’ grueling training camp. Though he’s typically the last one down the hill to the field every day, Kelce doesn’t take reps off in practice as is customary for many other veterans around the league.

In fact, coach Andy Reid said there are times when Kelce hears a play that he likes where it’s difficult to keep him subbed out on the sideline.

“You need to have these days,” Kelce said. “You need to have this time of grinding with the guys, being around them all day, every day. You start to create that chemistry of how we’re going to do things. This year, it’s ramped up even more, especially on the offensive side of the ball. It feels good to have the leaders out there all feeling the same thing.”

Kelce also appears to be in good shape, despite some viral AI videos online that depicted him at practice with a beer belly. Even Reid, when asked recently about Kelce’s conditioning, said he had been surprised to see false reports that he’d shown up with a “dad bod.”

Because I saw the fake Travis Kelce beer gut AI practice video about 10 times this weekend … here is what Travis Kelce looks like at Chiefs camp this morning. pic.twitter.com/ft7n3rVtid

— Jesse Newell (@jessenewell) August 3, 2026

For his part, Kelce said physically he was “ready to rock and roll” this season.

“I think nine days in pads, third day in pads this week, body feels good. I was able to finish in a strong way,” Kelce said. “Just trying to make sure I set that example for the guys around me to know this is the standard.”

Kelce says part of his motivation for the season is to put a disappointing 2025 behind him. In particular, Kelce had a pair of drops-turned-interceptions that swung momentum in losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans.

“I still got a lot of love for this game,” he said. “I still think I can go out and play at a high level, and I want to go out there and prove to myself that I can play at a better level than I did last year. And I think that’s probably the biggest thing for me is making sure that I’m accountable for the guys in this room every single play that I’m out there.”

Kelce, who had 76 catches for 851 yards with five touchdowns last season, also said he wants to improve his leadership skills in 2026. That includes holding guys accountable and also picking them up when needed.

“We get stuck with adversity hitting; who’s going to want you in that foxhole with them?” Kelce said. “That’s one of those things that I want to be one of those guys that everybody counts on to get us out of that foxhole.”