Travis Kelce dons 'silly' Texas Tech mascot head after losing bet to Patrick Mahomes leaving fans in splits

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: NFL star Travis Kelce has developed a newfound respect for team mascots after donning a part of the costume himself on a recent edition of 'New Heights' - the podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis appeared on the video podcast on Wednesday, October 2, donning the headpiece of the Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot.

The NFL star revealed on the podcast that he had to wear the mascot head after losing a friendly bet against his teammate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, over an NCAA football game.

Travis Kelce wears 'silly' Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot helmet after losing bet to Patrick Mahomes

The Chiefs tight revealed that he had to wear the mascot head after their college alma mater lost a game to the college football team in Lubbock, Texas, as his elder brother Jason burst out in laughter.

Mahomes was a standout quarterback for Texas Tech before the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the first round, per The Mirror. He bet with Travis that his former school would beat the tight end's alma college, Cincinnati.

This past weekend saw a clash between the two universities, and Texas Tech prevailed in a thrilling 44-41 victory when Cincinnati's 50-yard field goal try to seal the victory was unsuccessful.

The loser was required to don the opposing team's mascot headgear. Thus, Travis had to pay his punishment following Texas Tech's exciting 44–41 victory over Cincinnati.

Travis, 34, said, "I might as well tell you guys why I even have this mascot head on, and where it comes from. It comes from good ol’ Lubbock, Texas."

"The Texas Tech Red Raiders beat up on our Cincinnati Bearcats over the weekend, and me and Pat had a little fun, little wager that we came up with," he added.

Mascots from both sides took part. With a victory over the Red Raiders on Saturday, September 28, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback "would have been at the press conference that he has every single week wearing a Bearcat mascot head," per Us Weekly.

Travis added, "If the Bearcats would’ve won, Pat would have been at the press conference that he has every single week wearing a Bearcat mascot head—and, sure enough, as you can see, the Bearcats lost."

"Because I’m sitting here looking like an idiot wearing this Red Raiders mascot head."

While Jason, 36, told his younger brother, "You don’t look like an idiot at all," he also said Travis resembled Yosemite Sam from Looney Tunes.

"You look like a full-on version of Yosemite Sam is what you look like. I mean, that’s the only thing. The Red Raiders clearly stole Yosemite Sam," Jason quipped.

Travis Kelce reveals its 'kind of an honor' to own his new mascot look

Travis responded instantly when Jason asked him if, after donning a portion of a costume himself, he had "a newfound respect for mascots."

"Not that I didn’t already respect [mascots], but I mean, if this is what they’re doing in Lubbock, Texas, in 100-degree dry-ass heat, f**k that. … And on top of that, they’re running around, getting everybody excited," he said.

Because of a recollection from his past, Travis told the audience that he's owning his new look and that it's "kind of an honor."

Travis mentioned the EA Sports College Football video game and said, "I used to play with this guy in NCAA football, like growing up when you could do the full mascot teams. I used to play with this guy all the time."

The Chiefs tight end took off the mask after just 10 minutes of the show. Travis added, "It’s extremely hot under here. There’s not a lot of air coming through this thing. So, it kind of feels like I’m hyperventilating a little bit."

Travis gave the Red Raiders a shout-out for defeating the Bearcats before removing his helmet.

He remarked, "Me and Pat wanted to have some fun with it, knowing that I don’t think we’d ever matched up in the football field before."

Fans were left in splits over Travis Kelce's mascot look

Social media users and NFL fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their joy upon viewing the NFL star inside the "giant mascot head," as one exclaimed, "Your best look yet, @tkelce"

A second fan added, "This is hilarious. The man who picked up a Luchedor mask off the floor in Vegas and wore it all night dancing is asking his brother whether he sanitized the interior of a giant mascot head."

"Love it! Way to be a good sport. Cincy fans good ppl in my book," a third fan remarked.

Another exclaimed, "I love how Travis is like “I don’t want to give away what’s under the mask” as if he was a character at Disney wanting to preserve the magic for the children"

"Honestly Pat should have made him wear it for every episode," chimed in another.

One added, "This is amazing. Trav looked good with the mascot head!"

Another wrote, "C‘mom Trav, don’t lie… that ain’t the first mascot head you have put on."

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