Travis Kelce had already lost a year of football at Cleveland Heights after academic issues made him ineligible during his sophomore season. Once he returned, he was required to perform exceptionally well to attract attention from major college football programs. But that setback hurt his recruiting stock, leaving him with offers primarily from smaller Division I programs before he ultimately followed Jason to Cincinnati.

But even after reaching the Bearcats, Travis’ path took another unexpected turn. During Cincinnati’s 2010 bowl week, Kelce tested positive for m——–, and was removed from the team, losing his scholarship in the process. Even before fulfilling his dream of playing in the NFL, Travis had learned hard lessons from those two instances.

According to Jason, however, Travis’ one-year suspension at Cincinnati turned out to be the best thing that happened to him. On the latest episode of the Youth Inc. podcast with former Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen, Jason opened up about the incident, explaining why being suspended for a year by the Cincinnati school worked out for Travis Kelce in his career in the long run.

“Trav wasn’t a no-star [recruit]. He did get a scholarship, but he wasn’t a huge recruit, and he had a bunch of injuries in college, and that was kind of, he got kicked off the team. I tell people all the time, I think one of the best things that happened for Travis was to get suspended for a year with m——–, was him to get kicked off the team, was to have all these injuries because he had to work and develop all these things to overcome all of that. 

“I think it’s really easy sometimes to look at those things as negatives, and they are in the moment, like it s—s, but ultimately it’s only a negative if you allow it to stop you,” Jason Kelce revealed.

Long before Travis became a star tight end, he was a dual-threat QB prospect at Cleveland Heights, racking up over 2,500 total yards as a senior.  But he had to start over from square one after being kicked off the Bearcats’ roster in his sophomore year after a failed drug test.

The suspension came at a critical moment: just before the 2010 Sugar Bowl. Travis was playing as a TE early in his Bearcats career, but even then he was doing so sparingly. He had just one reception for three yards as a freshman. 

After failing the drug test, new Head Coach Butch Jones stripped his scholarship, revoked his campus housing, and dismissed him entirely. Suddenly cut off, Travis hit rock bottom as he searched for local classified ads for work.

His dad forced him to stay in two, as the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end was forced to find a job. But a job came with its own caveat, as Kelce was no longer treated as a star athlete.

He took an outbound telemarketing job conducting healthcare surveys to pay basic living expenses, as his mother, Donna Kelce, had to secure personal loans for his textbooks.

“It wasn’t easy,” Travis recalled during Super Bowl LVII Opening Night. “I was working at a call center, calling Southern Ohio, Eastern Indiana and Northern Kentucky about Obamacare, and people weren’t too happy about that at that point in time, so I was just getting yelled at every single day.”

Big brother Jason let Travis crash in his college apartment rent-free for the time being. Without scholarship, Travis moved in with Jason, who was still playing for Cincinnati at the time. He shared a room with his older brother, ate meals Jason provided through his scholarship, and relied on him financially.

“First off, he gave me somewhere to stay,” the tight end said of his brother. “I wasn’t getting a scholarship anymore. I wasn’t enrolled at UC. I had to become a non-athlete in the sense that I was (just) a student. He gave me a lot of meals through his scholarship and things like that.

“He helped me out, not only just living, but eventually helped me get back on track. He knew exactly what I wanted to do in life. He knew that I had the ambition and ability to get there.”

At the same time, however, Jason Kelce was making sure that his brother got back to the roster. Ahead of 2011 spring ball, Jason walked straight into the coaches’ office to plead with HC Butch Jones and assistant Kerry Coombs. Fighting back tears, Jason personally guaranteed that his younger brother would change his ways. 

Kerry Coombs remembered Jason insisting, “I’ve got this, and you’ve got to trust me on this.” Travis would later break down in tears when recounting the episode and admitted that Jason intervened “like he was Superman” when nobody was willing to “gamble.”

Coach Jones would eventually be willing to give Travis Kelce another chance but with some non-negotiables. Travis had to get at least a 3.0 GPA, miss zero team meetings, and live with his elder brother under constant supervision. With no scholarship, Travis had to work his way up through scout-reps to prove he belonged. 

Now, 15 years, three Super Bowl wins, four-time First Team All-Pro selections, 11 Pro Bowl selections, 13,000+ receiving yards, 1,000+ receptions, and 80+ receiving TDs later, it’s safe to say that Travis Kelce has made good use of his brother’s belief in him!

And now, every time Travis Kelce slides on the No. 87 jersey for the Chiefs, it is a homage to the moment that nearly ended his football career. #87 is to honor Jason’s birth year (1987), Travis explained to NFL Films, and said that he is “forever in debt” to his older brother for putting his own shot at playing in the NFL on the line to give Travis a second chance.