Donna Kelce found herself in a singular position at the 2023 Super Bowl. Both her sons, Travis and Jason Kelce, were playing in the big game—on opposing teams. The appropriately monikered Kelce Bowl saw Travis on the Kansas City Chiefs and Jason repping the Philadelphia Eagles, but who did Donna root for?
Well, both, obviously. Donna—who was named one of Glamour’s 2024 Women of the Year alongside a few other very famous mothers—wore a now iconic jersey that equally celebrated the Eagles and Chiefs. After all, being the matriarch of the first family to have two sons square off in the Super Bowl is something to celebrate—regardless of who wins.
In case you’re wondering, the Chiefs took home the trophy that year, but Donna was (of course) just as proud of Jason as she was Travis. She said directly to her sons on their podcast New Heights that watching them play together in the Super Bowl was the “best day ever, except for when both you guys were born”—a comment that visibly moved them.
Greatness is a Kelce gene through and through. According to People, Donna herself competed at the Junior Olympics in high school and won for track and field. She then went on to Ohio University, becoming the first college graduate in her family. Donna followed this up with a 40-year banking career (casual!) and now is part of a rare group of parents to have not just one but two kids reach the NFL. Again, casual.
“I represent moms,” Donna told Kansas City television station KSHB 41 in 2023. “Moms and dads that work every day to make sure their kids can do what they love to do.”
In return, Travis and Jason show their love for Donna every chance they can. Below—just in time for Mother’s Day—read just a sampling of the heartfelt things these guys have said about their mama.
Travis says his mom is a “saint.”
“She’s a saint. My mother’s just an absolute sweetheart,” he told People. “...You can ask her anything. She’s very down to earth, very humble. Will never take the praise, she’ll always put it on somebody else, and that’s why we love her.”
Jason called Donna the “mom of the NFL.”
During his NFL retirement speech in March 2024, Jason got emotional talking about Donna. “I won’t forget my mother becoming ‘mom of the NFL,’” he said. “A representative for all moms out there who have sacrificed so much for their children.”
Travis says his mom is where he got his confidence from.
“My mom’s home videos, man,” Travis said during a Chiefs press conference about the specific source of his outgoing personality. “Just having that camera on me at all times, seeing what silly stuff I’m gonna do next, man. Honestly, I’ve always been comfortable in the rooms that I’ve been in and just been fortunate that I’ve been able to kind of look into a camera with ease, I guess. I don’t know. It’s just having fun out there.”
Tina Knowles, Donna Kelce, Maggie Baird, and Mandy Teefey talk motherhood, stardom, ambition, and what’s next.
The long hug Donna gave Jason after the 2023 Super Bowl.
No words were needed here to convey the unconditional love Donna Kelce has for Jason—and vice versa.
https://www.tiktok.com/@espn/video/7199478607104806187?lang=en
Travis says Donna is the “best mother in the world.”
“From all the tears of sorrow to all [the] tears of happiness... Thank you for always being the best mother in the world!” Travis wrote to his mom on Instagram in 2020. “Happy Mother’s Day Mama Donna!! Love you to the moon and back!”
The biggest lesson Jason learned from Donna: resilience
“My mother was a part of a generation of females that was largely the first of their families to go to college,” Jason said during his NFL retirement speech. “When deciding to go to college, her own father said he disagreed with the idea, telling her instead she should become a secretary, or be a wife. In fact, the only thing that convinced him into letting her go to college was my grandmother's insistence that my mother would find an educated man to settle down with and that would mean more money for the family.”
Jason continued, “Mom took the opportunity to go to college and graduated from the Ohio University, worked in banking for over 40 years, climbing the corporate ladder from teller to a VP, and was largely the breadwinner for our family. I like to think I got my toughness, aggression, and lunch-pail mentality from my father. And from my mother, I learned the all too important lesson of never letting anyone tell you what you can’t do.”
Travis and Jason tear up talking about seeing their mom after the 2023 Super Bowl
“The moment I saw Mom is when I got really emotional because, man, it was so awesome”—Jason started saying on New Heights before tearing up.
“Alright now,” Travis said, comforting his brother. But the exchange made Travis tear up too.
“She was on top of the world for a week,” Jason said about Donna, still choking up a bit, to which Travis said, “She was the heavyweight champ, man. She was on top of it and she shined the whole time, man. That was the coolest part. Mom, you absolutely killed it.”
