Travis Kelce moved into second place among tight ends for career receiving yards on Monday night, but the Kansas City Chiefs star was quick to point out that there is still one name ahead of him.

Kelce entered the Chiefs' 31-10 win over the Denver Broncos 45 yards behind Jason Witten's 13,046 career receiving yards. He passed Witten late in the third quarter when Patrick Mahomes found him for a 59-yard catch.

“It's not a record. Second place. That's not a record,” Travis Kelce said on Thursday.

Kelce shook off Ja'Quan McMillian on the play and turned upfield, nearly taking the reception into the end zone. The catch pushed his career total to 13,073 yards, putting him behind only Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, who finished with 15,127.

“I grew up in an era where I saw guys like Tony Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe, Shockey, and then Dallas Clark. All the tight ends, you guys. And there was a certain way that they played the game that you just love as a football player,” Travis Kelce said on the New Heights podcast on Thursday.

Kelce has now passed Sharpe in career receiving yards and touchdown catches, while he is closing in on Sharpe's 815 career receptions. Kelce currently has 814 catches.

He is also chasing several Chiefs records held by Gonzalez. Kelce is eight touchdowns and 103 receptions away from taking Kansas City's career marks in those categories.

Gonzalez's Chiefs career included 916 receptions, 10,940 receiving yards and 76 touchdowns. Kelce knows catching his former childhood idol will take more work.

“So to be in the same talks as these guys at this point in my career. And I'll have to just play another five years to catch Tony,” Travis Kelce added.

Kelce also owns the NFL record for seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end, along with the most 100-yard games at the position with 38. His 1,416 receiving yards in 2020 remain the single-season record for a tight end.

At 36, Kelce is now in his 14th NFL season, which could be his final one. For now, though, Gonzalez remains the one name standing between him and the top spot.

While Kelce was making NFL history on the field, his name was also coming up in a very different story away from football.

Travis Kelce named among victims in multimillion-dollar fraud case

Travis Kelce has been named as one of the victims in a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme prosecuted in St. Louis, according to KMOV investigative reporter Laura Simon, who was in court when the Kansas City Chiefs tight end's name was read.

Kelce was reportedly among at least 64 victims mentioned during the hearing. His name does not appear in the indictment or judgment obtained by USA TODAY Sports, while victim impact statements in the case remain sealed.

Kelce was previously listed as an investor in a fund created by Swiftarc, which was founded by Siddarth Jawahar. A 2021 Forbes report also listed NBA players Tim Hardaway Jr., Gary Harris and Mason Plumlee as investors, although it is unclear whether they were also victims.

Court documents say Jawahar took tens of millions of dollars from investors instead of making the investments he had promised.

Prosecutors said he used money from newer investors to pay earlier ones and spent other funds on private flights, luxury hotels and expensive restaurants.

Jawahar, 38, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and ordered to pay $31.35 million in restitution to victims.

Written by

Debanjali Rakshit