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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is sharing a story about a wild career move that he made before joining the team.
It’s hard to imagine Travis Kelce being anything other than the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, but there was a time when Kelce had a normal day job, like millions of other people. Thankfully, that didn’t last long, and the Chiefs drafted Kelce, who would go onto be one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history.
For the 2025-26 season, Kelce clocked 76 receptions for 851 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 17 games, according to NFL research, so he remained healthy throughout the season and played in each regular season game. He also had one rushing touchdown and one rushing yard and was named to his 11th consecutive Pro Bowl, although he dropped out of the appearance.
During the Wednesday, March 25, episode of Kelce’s podcast with his brother Jason, “New Heights,” the tight end opened up about his past career moves. He shared that he absolutely didn’t like one of his pre-Chiefs jobs.
Travis Kelce Opens Up About Past Job as a Telemarketer for $8 an Hour
Before Kelce was on the field with the Chiefs, he was a telemarketer. But, he says he wasn’t very good at it. So, it’s best that he sticks with his “day job” with the Chiefs. Three years before he was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs, Kelce took a telemarketing job to make ends beat. On the podcast, he talks about that gig and says that it just wasn’t a good fit.
“As fellow telemarketers, you know that you’re reading an already pre-set [script],” Travis said. He also said that he was the “worst telemarketer in the world.”
Kelce previously talked about his telemarketing career in an interview with ESPN back in 2017, stating, “All I had been doing is playing outside, playing sports my entire life. I had never sat down and tried to earn a living like that.”
He added, “That’s not to hit on anybody’s 9-to-5; that’s just not for me. ‘The light at the end of the tunnel was that if I do what I’m supposed to do instead of being a knucklehead, I can have a way better life than this.”
Kansas City Chiefs Gearing Up for 2026 NFL Draft
In other news, the Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up for the 2026 NFL draft. In a Tuesday, March 24, feature for ESPN, Field Yates lays out who he thinks the team will snag in the draft to add to the roster. For the team’s No. 9 pick, he sees them going with wide receiver Jordyn Tyson out of Arizona State.
“The Chiefs are in desperate need of more big-play receivers, as Xavier Worthy hasn’t been a consistent spark plug for them the past two seasons,” he notes in the piece. “Tyson is the most explosive wide receiver in the draft and neck and neck with Carnell Tate for WR1 in my rankings.”
He adds, “He has very good size, acceleration, unique run-after-catch skills and field-stretching ability. Tyson dealt with a hamstring injury in 2025 and previously suffered a broken collarbone and ACL tear, but he changes an offense when healthy.”
In the final six games of his 2024-25 season, Tyson had 50 catches, 732 yards and six touchdowns, according to ESPN research.
Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter for Heavy Sports covering the NFL, NBA and college football. Anne Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
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