Chiefs President Says He Promised Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift He Would Never ‘Monetize’ Their Relationship

Travis Kelce’s team has his back both on and off the field.

Kansas City Chiefs President Mark Donovan opened up about the background discussions that went on when the tight end’s relationship with his fiancée Taylor Swift first went public, and how the franchise has made it a priority to respect his personal life despite their very public romance.

“Taylor’s been amazing to us. It’s been nothing but good. She is a phenomenon. She is just a special kind of person,” Donovan told sportscaster Kay Adams on the Up and Adams Show when asked about the pop superstar on Monday, Dec. 1.

Then, Donovan — who is in his 17th season with the Kansas City Chiefs and 27th in the NFL — recalled a conversation he had with Kelce, 36, “early on” in their relationship, emphasizing how the team would be “respectful.”

“I told Travis, ‘Look, we are going to treat you and your relationship with the same respect that we treat any other player or coach’s relationship,’ ” he shared. “It’s a relationship. We’re not going to monetize it, we’re not going to go out there and go crazy.”

The Chiefs executive claimed they don’t show Swift, 35, on the video boards at Arrowhead Stadium, in contrast to the various broadcasts that flash her on their screens.

“For a couple of years, all those shots you see in the stadium. He scores a touchdown. He makes a catch. It goes to Taylor. Especially the first year. We never showed Taylor on our big boards in our stadium, never,” he said. “It was respectful. We’re not going to do that.”

“We’re not taking advantage of this relationship,” Donovan stressed.

Kelce sparked romance rumors with Swift in September 2023 when she first attended one of his games. The pair confirmed their romance that October and entered a whirlwind relationship in the months-turned-years that followed. In August 2025, they announced their engagement.

Donovan claimed that the Chiefs’ arena team “never played a Taylor Swift song in the stadium when she was in the building,” a fact he “joked” about with Kelce “early on in the first year.”

“Travis, to his credit, is all about team and he’s all about the guys and he’s all about being part of a team and not being separate,” he shared. “And he said, ‘That separates me… When we’re playing a game. When we’re in that stadium, it’s about us. And I want it to be about us’.”

After Kelce and Swift announced their engagement over the summer, the Kansas City Chiefs congratulated the couple on the exciting news and welcomed the “Fate of Ophelia” singer into the franchise family.

“Today is a fairytale ❤️💍 Congrats to Travis and Taylor—we’re excited to have you as a permanent member of the Chiefs Kingdom family!” the NFL team’s official Instagram captioned a slideshow of images featuring the couple on Tuesday, Aug. 26.

When romance rumors first started to swirl in 2023, PEOPLE spoke with Donovan exclusively at Arrowhead Stadium about the relationship and how Swift has impacted the team — and the NFL — and whether it could be a distraction for Kelce.

“Travis is a smart team player,” he said of the Chiefs tight end at the time. “He can handle it and has been very professional.”

Despite the attention surrounding Swift and Kelce’s rumored romance, Donovan insisted the NFL star was “focused on the right things and doing it the right way,” he said.

“Our locker room has the maturity, leadership and respect to handle it.” 

Instead of a distraction, Donovan said at the time that the extra focus on Kansas City’s games “has been fun and good for everybody involved.”