Jason Kelce thought he knew what being famous was.
Then his younger brother started dating Taylor Swift during a season when the Kansas City Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls and became the NFL’s newest dynasty.
Jason revealed on a recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq that Travis was initially overwhelmed by the attention that he received once Swifties and NFL fans learned he was romantically involved with the biggest pop musician in the world.
So overwhelmed that Travis was forced to leave his old house behind and purchase a new, safer one.
“He had to completely move out of his house,” Jason said. “People were just staying by his house. I mean, safety reasons.”
But even when the Chiefs tight end invested in a new mansion in October that cost almost $6 million and featured six bedrooms, six bathrooms and more than 16,000 square feet of new living area, Jason’s brother still didn’t have full personal privacy.
“In the first day that he moved into the new house, a gated community, somebody knocks on the back door, a window, of the house,” Jason said.
The Kelces were popular before the Swifties and pop culture took over their football world.
But once Travis and Swift became a real thing in the public eye, Jason quickly understood that there was a whole other level of fame.
“We’re still learning,” Jason said. “We’ve always been big in the football world, right? Travis especially. The Taylor world and the pop culture world, that’s a whole different level. It’s just an added level, a new demographic that wasn’t there before.”
Shaquille O’Neal has been a big thing since his college days at LSU, so the NBA legend tried to give the Kelce brothers friendly life advice.
“The key is to stay righteous,” O’Neal said. “For example, people take pictures of me all the time. They ain’t doing it, right? So a lot of times, they take the pictures because they’re trying to up their Instagram or whatever, they’re trying to sell a story.”
Shaq is clearly a fan of the Kelces.
He wants the best for the brothers but also hopes they’re able to maintain their realness while dealing with worldwide fame.
“I’ve been watching you and your brother a long time,” O’Neal said. “I could tell you’re good, wholesome people.
“Just tell ’em, always keep your head on a swivel, now, because there’s going to be some crazy. But if you’re not doing nothing, there’s nothing to hide.”
“Absolutely,” Jason said.