QUINIX Sport News: Travis Kelce Addresses Past Suspension Over Marijuana Use and How It Impacted His NFL Draft

• Travis Kelce was suspended from playing football after failing a drug test during his sophomore year at the University of Cincinnati
• Travis and his brother Jason Kelce talked about the impact of that suspension on Travis’ NFL draft during their New Heights podcast
• Travis now plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, helping the team go to multiple Super Bowls

Travis Kelce isn’t ashamed of his past.

The 35-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end discussed his college suspension from football after he failed a drug test on an episode of his and brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, which was released on Wednesday, April 30.  

While talking about the 2025 NFL draft, retired player Jason, 37, reflected on Travis being picked in the third round of the draft in 2013. 

“The funny thing about Trav is that there was nothing outside of the injuries. I guess you had two things,” Jason said. “You had a few injuries, and then you obviously had the marijuana thing stemming from your sophomore year.”

Related: Travis and Jason Kelce Have a Guys Night Out with Justin Timberlake in Las Vegas

Travis, who attended the University of Cincinnati, was suspended from playing his sophomore year after he failed his drug test. The NFL star joked about his brother’s word choice, saying, “You saying ‘marijuana’ makes it sound so more intense. Why does that word sound so intense?”

But Jason was focused more on how Travis’ suspension impacted him during the NFL draft. 

“You probably got drafted an entire round later than you should have,” Jason said. “I just think it’s funny sometimes looking back and, like, there are all these concerns about Travis Kelce and, like, everybody whoever knew you knew you were a great kid. You just had, like, a mess up with weed. Sorry. And then all of a sudden, like, teams aren’t picking you for it.”

Jason pointed out that today NFL players openly smoke weed, saying, “We’re gonna act like this is a death sentence?” to which Travis jokingly replied, “Yeah, we are.” 

However, despite the hesitation from the pro teams, Travis said the draft “worked out perfect” for him. 

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Jason, meanwhile, had a unique take on how players who were demoted during the draft should handle their future success. 

“I just want everybody that drops in the draft for whatever character concerns, if it ever pans out, they should just do that exact same character concern,” he suggested. “Like, you should have just walked into signing your second deal with a blunt in your hand smoking it as a sign of the paper.” 

He added, “I’m not condoning smoking weed, but unless you sign a multimillion-year deal you wanna say ‘f— you’ to all the people that doubted you because you did smoke weed.” 

Related: Jason and Travis Kelce Offer Advice to Parents with ‘Feral Children’ — and Why They Should ‘Lean Into It’

Travis previously opened up about his suspension on a past episode of New Heights, saying, “The [Dallas] Cowboys, they were kind of pressing me about having this red flag of missing a year.”

In fact, this suspension led to him changing positions in football to tight end where he still plays today. 

“What [the suspension] did was it really kicked me into the tight end room,” Travis shared during a 2023 appearance on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast. “I was still playing QB then. It was like, ‘Alright, you can come walk on the team, but we don’t need a quarterback. You can just be an athlete on scout team for a year, we’ll figure it out.’ ”

Now, Travis, who was drafted by Kansas City, is considered one of the best tight ends in NFL history and has announced that he’ll return for another season with the Chiefs. 

Read the original article on People

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• Travis Kelce was suspended from playing football after failing a drug test during his sophomore year at the University of Cincinnati
• Travis and his brother Jason Kelce talked about the impact of that suspension on Travis’ NFL draft during their New Heights podcast
• Travis now plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, helping the team go to multiple Super Bowls

Travis Kelce isn’t ashamed of his past.

The 35-year-old Kansas City Chiefs tight end discussed his college suspension from football after he failed a drug test on an episode of his and brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, which was released on Wednesday, April 30.  

While talking about the 2025 NFL draft, retired player Jason, 37, reflected on Travis being picked in the third round of the draft in 2013. 

“The funny thing about Trav is that there was nothing outside of the injuries. I guess you had two things,” Jason said. “You had a few injuries, and then you obviously had the marijuana thing stemming from your sophomore year.”

Related: Travis and Jason Kelce Have a Guys Night Out with Justin Timberlake in Las Vegas

Travis, who attended the University of Cincinnati, was suspended from playing his sophomore year after he failed his drug test. The NFL star joked about his brother’s word choice, saying, “You saying ‘marijuana’ makes it sound so more intense. Why does that word sound so intense?”

But Jason was focused more on how Travis’ suspension impacted him during the NFL draft. 

“You probably got drafted an entire round later than you should have,” Jason said. “I just think it’s funny sometimes looking back and, like, there are all these concerns about Travis Kelce and, like, everybody whoever knew you knew you were a great kid. You just had, like, a mess up with weed. Sorry. And then all of a sudden, like, teams aren’t picking you for it.”

Jason pointed out that today NFL players openly smoke weed, saying, “We’re gonna act like this is a death sentence?” to which Travis jokingly replied, “Yeah, we are.” 

However, despite the hesitation from the pro teams, Travis said the draft “worked out perfect” for him. 

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 celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Jason, meanwhile, had a unique take on how players who were demoted during the draft should handle their future success. 

“I just want everybody that drops in the draft for whatever character concerns, if it ever pans out, they should just do that exact same character concern,” he suggested. “Like, you should have just walked into signing your second deal with a blunt in your hand smoking it as a sign of the paper.” 

He added, “I’m not condoning smoking weed, but unless you sign a multimillion-year deal you wanna say ‘f— you’ to all the people that doubted you because you did smoke weed.” 

Related: Jason and Travis Kelce Offer Advice to Parents with ‘Feral Children’ — and Why They Should ‘Lean Into It’

Travis previously opened up about his suspension on a past episode of New Heights, saying, “The [Dallas] Cowboys, they were kind of pressing me about having this red flag of missing a year.”

In fact, this suspension led to him changing positions in football to tight end where he still plays today. 

“What [the suspension] did was it really kicked me into the tight end room,” Travis shared during a 2023 appearance on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast. “I was still playing QB then. It was like, ‘Alright, you can come walk on the team, but we don’t need a quarterback. You can just be an athlete on scout team for a year, we’ll figure it out.’ ”

Now, Travis, who was drafted by Kansas City, is considered one of the best tight ends in NFL history and has announced that he’ll return for another season with the Chiefs. 

Read the original article on People