Travis Kelce Is ‘Genuinely Happy’ in Kansas City and ‘Chose to Put Down Real Roots’: Source (Exclusive)

Travis Kelce is “genuinely happy” to call Kansas City, Missouri, his home.

A source tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story on Travis, 34, and his NFL brother Jason Kelce, 36, that the former is enjoying his life in Kansas City, where he’s lived and been playing football since the Chiefs drafted him in 2013.

“He loves KC,” the source says. “He’s genuinely happy there, and that’s why he chose to put down real roots.”

The source adds that life in Kansas City is comfortable for Travis, who has “a lot of friends” living in the nearby area.

“Most of his friends are just normal guys, and a lot he’s known since college,” the source adds. “He’s a very loyal guy and a lot of his friends have been in his life for a long, long time.”

Travis’ life off the field has been magnified since last summer when rumors began to swirl about a budding romance between him and pop star Taylor Swift.

Travis and Taylor, also 34, confirmed their relationship later in the fall while the “Love Story” singer has made regular trips to Kansas City to see Travis and the Chiefs play at Arrowhead Stadium.
Most recently, Swift braved Kansas City’s sub-freezing temperatures to watch Travis and the Chiefs defeat the Miami Dolphins in the first round of the NFL playoffs.

Travis, meanwhile, told reporters last week that he has no plans to retire from the NFL, explaining that he still enjoys playing football. “I love it,” he said.

Travis has stayed busy during the NFL offseason, however, raising questions about whether he’d like to pursue a career in entertainment sometime soon.

The two-time Super Bowl champion hosted Saturday Night Live last March, co-hosts the New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast and has become a familiar face on television commercials year-round.

But Travis says that life, which still exists outside the hash marks, is still far off.

“I’ve been fortunate to do a few things outside of the sports world that I’ve been enjoying doing, like getting on camera,” he told the reporters. “The SNL stuff kind of opened up a new happiness and a new career path for me, but it’s funny for me to even say that at this point in my career because I think it’s so much further down the road than it is right now.”

Echoing that sentiment, a source tells PEOPLE the Chiefs star “had a blast” hosting SNL and that he’s always the “life of the party” everywhere he goes. However, he isn’t likely to be going anywhere but Kansas City in the near future.

And for Taylor? “They’re really happy and having a lot of fun together,” the source says. “But they’re still seeing where it goes.”