Patrick Mahomes Says Celebrity Hasn’t Changed Teammate Travis Kelce: ‘He’s Just Been Himself the Whole Time’

Patrick Mahomes says Travis Kelce is the friend he’s always known.

Mahomes, 28, told reporters on Wednesday that Kelce, 34, hasn’t let any attention or fame get to his head. 

“Travis has always been Travis,” the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback said of his teammate, reports NBC Sports. “He’s still Travis Kelce.” 

“He still will walk through the stadium and treat every single person like they’re his best friend. And he’s going to be like that in the locker room every single day.”

Despite Kelce’s new romance with popstar Taylor Swift, his recent Saturday Night Live hosting gig in March 2023, and a cameo in October, Mahomes explained that the tight end has “just been himself the whole time.”

The two-time Super Bowl MVP told reporters that he was especially happy for his teammate when he hosted SNL. “It was really, really cool,” Mahomes said. “It was a dream of his.”

Kelce has been a fan of the variety show and quoted the series’ sketches in the locker room “for years,” Mahomes said, adding that Kelce has told him to watch sketches for a while.

“He was telling me the ones from before I was even born,” Mahomes told reporters. “I was like, ‘Trav, I’m not the same age as you, I don’t even know who that is.’”

Mahomes then proposed the possibility that Kelce could “do more of that type of stuff after he’s done playing football.”

Mahomes previously praised Swift, 34, and her relationship with Kelce. In an interview with CBS Mornings, he revealed that when Swift and Kelce first began dating, “everybody stayed away” and “just let [Kelce] do what he was doing.”

“Then, he started bringing Taylor around, and he realized how cool of a person she was, and she is, and so for us, there were a couple of jokes here and there at the beginning,” admitted Mahomes.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

But now, “She’s just part of Chiefs Kingdom,” he said. “And she’s part of the team.”

“She’s top-tier at her profession, and to see how she drives and she becomes that — Dude, it’s really cool to hear about and to see, and now I have a first-hand look at that through Brittany and Travis’ eyes,” added Mahomes.

Mahomes, Kelce and the Chiefs play the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on CBS.