Travis Kelce's admiration for Justin Timberlake was evident on the March 20 episode of Kelce's "New Heights" podcast. Kelce reminisced about the experience of witnessing Timberlake reunite with his former 'N Sync band members and perform several songs during a recent concert in Los Angeles.
"He was performing various renditions of his old classics, absolute bangers. It was so cool to see him play some of my favorites, man," Kelce shared regarding the March 13 show.
"Yeah, man. It was a fun evening," he added, expressing his enjoyment of the event.
Read on for some highlights from Travis Kelce and Justin Timberlake’s friendship.
They have been playing golf together since at least 2021
In July 2021, both Justin Timberlake and Travis Kelce participated in the American Century Championship held in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
They were spotted shaking hands at the first hole during round one of the charity tournament.
They reunited on the golf course in 2022
Timberlake and Fallon teamed up against Kelce and Mahomes during the 8AM Golf Invitational in Las Vegas in April 2022.
“Today’s gonna be a good day,” Fallon captioned an Instagram video capturing the four of them celebrating. The video also showed Kelce accidentally knocking Timberlake to the ground after his bunker shot.
“Somewhere the greens keeper has smoke shooting out of his ears,” TODAY’s Carson Daly joked in the comments.
Kelce, Timberlake, and Mahomes also took part in the American Century Championship in July 2022.
Kelce said Timberlake was the most famous person in his phone's contact list
Kelce gave a shoutout to his buddy "J.T." in an interview for the Chiefs' TikTok account in January.
@chiefs We all know who the easy answer is#minimic #chiefs #famous #qotd ♬ original sound - Chiefs
"We want to know the most famous person in your contact list," the interviewer prompted Kelce. "Don't give us the easy answer!"
Kelce, with a grin, responded, "The easy answer? You guys know the easy answer." He then revealed that apart from a certain unnamed pop megastar, the most famous person in his phone is "J.T., Justin Timberlake."
"J.T., my man," Kelce said, pointing at the camera.
However, he admitted there was "not a chance" Timberlake would answer if he called him at that moment. "And I know you, and I appreciate you, Justin," Kelce added. "But he's a busy man, he's a busy man."
In January 2024, Timberlake discussed the video shoutout during an interview with Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show."
"We text," Timberlake told Fallon. "I don't want to bother him, he's busy right now. He's in the zone."
Justin Timberlake shares a funny memory when golfing with Travis Kelce
On Jan. 26, during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Timberlake reminisced about his friendship with Kelce, recalling a humorous incident they shared at a Las Vegas invitational golf tournament in April 2022.
Timberlake mentioned that he and Fallon had teamed up to play against Kelce and his fellow Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes.
The comical mishap occurred after Fallon executed an impressive bunker shot.
"Travis lifted me up in the air," Fallon recounted. "Even the other team was rooting for me, that’s how bad I am!"
Kelce then rushed toward Timberlake for a celebratory side bump, but things didn't go as planned.
"Travis Kelce almost — I saw my life flash before my eyes," Timberlake quipped. "He went up and did one of those — you know, when they jump — and I was like, he’s doing it, I have to do it! And I forgot that he weighs, like, 80 pounds more than me."
Fallon shared a clip of Kelce's jump, showing Timberlake crashing to the ground upon impact with the NFL star.
"Now, while that might not look like much, my neck, for like a week …" Timberlake joked, highlighting the aftermath of the incident.
"But all was good between the golf buddies," Timberlake concluded his story on "The Tonight Show." "He’s the best, by the way. One of the nicest guys ever."
Travis Kelce attended Justin Timberlake's concert
On March 13, Justin Timberlake surprised fans by inviting 'N Sync to join him for a performance at one of his shows in Los Angeles. During the concert, the group delighted the audience with hits like "It's Gonna Be Me," "Bye Bye Bye," and "Paradise," a new song from Timberlake's latest album "Everything I Thought It Was."
This event marked the first live performance of the boy band since the 2013 VMAs, as reported by Variety. Among the roaring crowd was Kelce, who had the opportunity to witness the reunion firsthand.
"Honestly, everybody knows I'm a huge JT fan," Kelce expressed on the March 20 episode of his "New Heights" podcast. "JT always makes unbelievable music. He was playing a bunch of renditions of his old classics, absolute bangers. It was so cool to see him play some of my favorites, man. And then on top of that, a handful of his new stuff, as well as his new hit single with ‘N Sync."
Kelce described the experience as a "fun evening."
"I can't complain. Anytime you can see Justin Timberlake perform, I suggest you buy the ticket, man. He's the f--king best," Kelce praised.