Travis Kelce (Getty Images)
Earlier this year, Travis Kelce earned recognition for his work off the field when the Kansas City Chiefs named him their club winner for the 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. Aaron Eanes attributed the reported spending figures to errors in the foundation’s tax filings.
The organisation had no officially listed president, secretary or treasurer and operated with only two board members, according to the investigation. “It appears to function more as an extension of the management company versus as an independent public charity,” Styron said. He said expenses connected to charitable programmes had been incorrectly classified as management costs rather than properly allocated to programme services. Eanes told The Arizona Republic that the records therefore did not provide an accurate “indication of where the resources were truly directed,” he claimed.
But the tight end’s charitable efforts soon faced difficult questions. An investigation by The Arizona Republic examined the finances of his Eighty-Seven and Running Foundation, raising concerns about how much money reached charitable programmes and how the organisation handled its expenses. The findings have put the foundation’s financial reporting and governance under scrutiny, even as Kelce weighs important decisions about his NFL future. The report raised further concerns about the foundation’s structure. “That’s not how charities work. It’s wrong.