Why audio of Travis Kelce’s Super Bowl rant may never be heard despite having microphone

Instead of talking about Travis Kelce's performance as a tight end in the Super Bowl, people are more interested in the contents of his tense conversation with the Kansas City Chiefs' head coach.

'Conversation' is putting it mildly - it was more him ranting and raving right in the face of poor Andy Reid while the whole world was watching from home.

The San Francisco 49ers had just got the first numbers on the score board and Kelce's teammate, running back Isiah Pacheco, had just fumbled the ball during the second quarter of the Super Bowl, so tensions were running high.

But Taylor Swift's new man struggled to keep a lid on his emotions while watching from the sidelines and he took out his frustrations on the Chiefs coach instead.

Shocking footage aired during the big game showed Kelce storming up to a startled Reid, smashing into him and screaming furiously in his face.

Running back Jerick McKinnon dragged the star tight end away to defuse the situation, while the coach steadied himself after nearly being bumped into next week by the player.

Social media sleuths have been trying to find lip reading experts to break down exactly what Kelce said while he was sounding off at the Super Bowl, but it turns out that he was wearing a microphone throughout the whole thing.

However, it seems that the audio is destined to never be heard.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

During the latest episode of Inside the NFL, a weekly US sports show which aired on Tuesday (20 February), Kelce's outburst was noticeably missing from the footage.

This came as quite the shock to viewers, who are used to seeing the secrets of what got discussed on the football field by mic'd up players in the program unveiled.

Inside the NFL instead played the audio of CBS color analyst Tony Romo saying that Kelce told Reid to 'keep me in' the game, before cutting to former players Channing Crowder, Chris Long and Ryan Clark to get their thoughts on the game.

But sources in sports media have claimed they know the real reason why Kelce's rant was left out of the show and why the incident was instead glossed over.

Jeff Bottari/Getty Images

Insiders told the New York Post that the tight end's team would have blocked the network from airing the audio, explaining that there are loads of clips from sports games that are tucked away which never made it to air - on purpose.

The production company NFL Films, which is owned by the league, gives the 32 teams and football chiefs veto power over what is included in programmes such as Inside the NFL, so the Chiefs probably blocked Kelce's rant making it in.

The sources alleged that the knowledge of what the tight end actually said to Reid could be 'constrained to a small circle of producers who are trained not to spread inflammatory material'.

After the Chiefs bagged their Super Bowl victory, Kelce was keen to keep coy about his comments - but admitted he was worried they might later be revealed.

He said: "Ah, you guys saw that? I'm gonna keep it between us unless my mic'd up tells the world. I was just telling him how much I love him."

Reid laughed off the incident during a post Super Bowl interview and joked that Kelce 'keeps him young'.

The grandad-of-12 added: "He tested that hip out. He caught me off balance – normally, I'd give him a little bit, but I didn't have any feet under me.

"He was really coming over [and saying], 'Just put me in, I'll score. I'll score.'

"So, that's really what it was. I love that. It's not the first time. I appreciate him."

LADbible has approached the Chiefs and The CW, which airs Inside the NFL, for a comment.