Travis Kelce wins Athlete of the Year at People’s Choice Awards after calling nomination ‘f–cking nonsense’

Travis Kelce won Athlete of the Year at the People’s Choice Awards Sunday after previously calling his nomination “f–king nonsense.”

The Kansas City Chiefs player didn’t attend the award show, which took place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., as he’s been spending time in Missouri following his team’s Super Bowl LVIII win.

Kelce, 34, had been nominated in the category alongside Coco Gauff, Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Lionel Messi, Sabrina Ionescu, Simone Biles and Stephen Curry.

He called the nomination “f–king nonsense” during a January episode of his “New Heights” podcast. Getty Images

The tight end previously shaded his nomination during a January episode of his and his brother Jason Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, telling the Philadelphia Eagles center that he didn’t belong in the category.

“What did I do to get Athlete of the Year? I did ‘SNL,’” he quipped at the time. “How am I on this [list]?”

He failed to mention during their conversation that his relationship with pop star Taylor Swift, who won four awards Sunday night but missed the ceremony as she’s in Australia for her Eras Tour, may have contributed to his nomination.

“What did I do to get Athlete of the Year? I did ‘SNL,’” he quipped at the time. “How am I on this [list]?” Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images

He did, however, shade Biles’ husband while discussing the nominees with Jason, 36.

“How is Simone Biles on this but her boyfriend [sic] isn’t?” Jason asked of the Green Bay Packers safety, 28.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end skipped the ceremony, as he’s been spending time in Missouri following his team’s Super Bowl win. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

Travis didn’t seem as surprised by Owens’ exclusion from the category as he added somewhat sarcastically, “Owens? Played some good ball over there, I guess.”

Travis’ comments came after Owens made fans irate in December after saying he was more of a “catch” than his wife, a seven-time Olympic medalist, and claimed he had never heard of her when he met her on celebrity dating app Raya.

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Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, also took home four wins but missed the ceremony as she was in Australia for her Eras Tour. aricjones/Instagram

“I always say that the men are the catch,” Owens said during a guest appearance on the “Pivot” podcast.

Despite internet netizens calling out Owens for his controversial comments, Biles, 26, took his side throughout the ordeal.

Although sleuths eventually uncovered Owens’ old tweets that proved he did, in fact, follow gymnastics before meeting Biles, he doubled down on his claim that he didn’t know of her.

The Chiefs beat the 49ers in overtime. Getty Images

“A lot of people don’t believe me when I say I had no clue,” he told Vanity Fair.

“I never once was like, ‘Oh, let me check gymnastics out,’” the football player said, noting he was at a training camp during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Owens and Biles married in April 2023 in a courthouse wedding. They tied the knot again a few weeks later with a bigger bash in Mexico.