Patrick Mahomes praised Taylor Swift for learning about football amid her romance with teammate Travis Kelce.

“Taylor’s probably the most down-to-earth person that’s been on that stage for that long,” Patrick, 28, said while speaking to TIME for his 100 Most Influential People profile published on Tuesday, April 16.

After noting that Taylor, 34, is “never not working,” the professional athlete said that she took her role as a WAG seriously by learning about football. “Even when she’s talking about football, when she’s learning it, you can see her business mind putting it together,” Patrick explained. “It’s almost like she’s trying to become a coach. ‘Why can’t you try this, this, and this?’ She’s asking the right questions.”

Not only did Patrick praise Taylor for expressing interest in the sport, but he acknowledged how hard she works to have a successful career. “Even when she’s taking her downtime, she’s working on something,” the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback continued. “Shooting a music video or singing a song or writing a song. You can see it by how she talks.”

Patrick and his wife, Brittany Mahomes, got to know the “Cruel Summer” singer well when she started dating Travis, 34. After the pair confirmed their romance in September 2023, Taylor became a member of Chiefs Kingdom and regularly started attending Travis’ games. Not only has she spent time with the couple at celebrations, but Taylor was regularly spotted watching the games in suites with Brittany, 28, during the recent season.

The Texas native went on to praise Taylor and Travis’ relationship for transforming the Chiefs from “a nationwide team that was kind of global to a full global worldwide team.” He added, “That came from Taylor’s fanbase.”

Several Swifties began tuning into games to get a glimpse of Taylor, which skyrocketed the athletes to a new level of fame. However, Patrick insisted that he and his teammates “embraced” the attention.

“We like having that visibility,” he said. “At the end of the day, football has always been this bruising sport. We want to make it fun, where kids grow up and play football and show their personality and be who they are. This year really magnified that.”

While Patrick praised the “Enchanted” singer for taking an interest in football, Travis previously admitted he didn’t know how he got Taylor’s attention due to her lack of interest in sports.

“I don’t know how I did it because she wasn’t into sports,” the Ohio native said during the April 10 episode of his “New Heights” podcast. “So I don’t know how the f–k I did it.”

Guest Dave Burd then shared a theory about how Travis managed to land a date with Taylor. “Well, you did it because you called her out on your multimedia platform,” Dave, 36, said, referencing the tight end’s past admission that he failed to ask her during a July 2023 podcast episode.

Travis made it clear he agreed with the theory, adding “I know exactly how I did it.”
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