Travis Kelce purchases minority stake in Cleveland Guardians

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce bought a minority stake in the Cleveland Guardians, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The future Hall of Famer is an Ohio native and recently attended Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.

While with fiance Taylor Swift, Kelce was front and center court-side cheering on the Cavs. Even though he’s been a Chief for live, Kelce never shied away from his love of Cleveland, close to where he grew up.

“I have so much love for this city,” Kelce told ESPN. “I say it all the time: I’m just a kid from the Heights living the dream. I credit every good thing in my life to Cleveland and being raised here with the values and the people and the work ethic. Cleveland Heights is such a diverse and dynamic place. Every friend, neighbor, teacher and teammate — they all made me the man I am today. It just fueled such a deep appreciation for life and community and service. That mentality of Cleveland against the world runs deep.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have a front-row seat to good ownership in my career, and I know the best teams prioritize culture. Everyone is there to play their role, and right now, I’m here to observe and learn and really to support the team and the city when and where I can.”

According to Passan, the Cleveland Guardians are valued around $1.7 billion, which is a massive increase from their $1 billion valuation in 2022. Kelce told ESPN he was a “diehard” then-Cleveland Indians fan in the 1990s in which the team won five straight AL Central crowns.

Funny enough, teammate and QB Patrick Mahomes is a minority owner for the Kansas City Royals. Now, there will definitely be some baseball banter in the locker room.

“We’re both as competitive as it gets, so you know there will be some bragging rights on the line when we play our division games,” Kelce said. “But I really have a lot of respect for the Royals and their organization. It was a fun time in Kansas City cheering them on for their World Series win in 2015.”

Kelce flirted with retirement following the 2025 season, in which the Chiefs missed the playoffs after appearing in three straight Super Bowls, winning two. But he’s motivated to put things in right in 2026.

Kelce has nothing to prove, as he’s virtually done everything in his NFL career. The 36-year-old has helped the Chiefs reach five Super Bowls, and the team has won three of them. Kelce has been selected to the Pro Bowl 11 times and has been named to the All-Pro Team seven times (four times to the First Team). In 13 seasons, Kelce has caught 1,080 passes for 13,002 yards and 82 touchdowns.