2025 NFL schedule release: Travis Kelce spoils Chiefs' Week 1 game in Brazil ahead of NFL's official announcement
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is taking on a new role ahead of the 2025 NFL season: Breaking-news reporter. For his first major scoop, Kelce revealed where the Chiefs would open the regular season.
Kelce confirmed the Chiefs will play against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil in Week 1. He made the announcement on the "New Heights" podcast, though he may have jumped the gun in putting the news out there.
Early in the episode, Travis and his brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, were talking about rumors the Chiefs were opening the season in Brazil. Travis was careful to talk around the issue initially, but finally stopped the charade.
"This doesn't come out until Wednesday?" Travis Kelce asked. "Yeah, we're definitely playing in Brazil. I also heard those rumors."
Travis' comment drew laughs from everyone in the studio.
He then went into more detail on playing in Brazil, and it doesn't sound like he's super pumped about the idea.
"I'll be there playing football in the f***ing heat." He continued, "There's just something about getting closer to the equator that I don't want to put on a football uniform doing that. I've been in Jacksonville in September and that's f***ing miserable."
He later added, "If it's humid, I'm going to be miserable."
Kelce revealed that news before the NFL's official announcement. The league announced most of its international-game schedule Tuesday. The only game the league did not announce was the one being held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was already known that the Chargers were playing in that game, but the NFL did not announce the team's opponent Tuesday. That news was set to be unveiled Wednesday, perhaps during the league's official schedule reveal at 8 p.m. ET.
Kelce may have jumped the gun with the announcement, though it shouldn't come as a huge surprise. There were rumors prior to Wednesday suggesting the Chiefs and Chargers will open the season in Brazil. Fans may have expected that to be the case, but they probably didn't expect Kelce to inadvertently break the news.
With that, Kelce's time as a breaking-news reporter may have already come to an end. The NFL probably isn't super pumped that the Chiefs tight end put the news out there early, though he's unlikely to face consequences for that.
In fact, Kelce's mistake might be the best thing for the league. At the very least, it's going to drive more attention to the game, and that's exactly what the NFL hopes for when rolling out its schedule each year.