Two-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce was a star in the NFL long before Taylor Swift entered the picture.

But since his relationship with the 12-time Grammy winner went public in September, the amount of attention that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end receives skyrocketed.

Aside from a spike in his social media followings, Kelce’s numbers on the field have also improved since the pop star’s fanbase declared him being ‘on the map‘.

According to Kelce’s mom Donna, this is his way of responding to those who think the relationship would be a distraction from football.

‘Travis is the type of individual where if you’re going to say that he’s not good enough, or that he’ll not be able to handle it, it just pushes him more,’ Donna told Fox News Digital. ‘It’s a fire within him to prove everyone wrong.

Pop singer Taylor Swift has been present at four of the Kansas City Chiefs’ games this season

Kelce’s social media following grew immensely since he started dating Swift in September

Donna, who had just launched a partnership with Barefoot Wines, continued to point out reasons for her 34-year-old son’s continuous improvement.

‘Because there were some people saying he’s not going to be able to handle the season, he’s not going to be a good football player,’ Donna added. ‘But it turns out that the more that he is pushed or challenged, he takes it to a new level.’

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Through his first seven appearances in 2022, Kelce had 343 yards and 47 receptions. So far this season, Kelce has 583 yards and 54 catches. The only significant statistic this does not apply to is his seven touchdowns last season to this year’s four.

Kelce currently leads all tight ends in the NFL in receiving yards, receptions and touchdowns

The added pressure from Swift bringing more eyes to Kelce, the Chiefs and the NFL as a whole does not seem to faze the eight-time Pro-Bowl tight end.

Kelce leads all tight ends in yards, receptions and touchdowns this season after dealing with injuries and not playing in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions.

Despite losing their last game (24-9) against the Denver Broncos, the Chiefs are still on top of the AFC West with a 6-2 record.

Kansas City will face the Miami Dolphins – who have the same record – on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany.