Pat McAfee says he was drenched in sweat when he met Taylor Swift during the Chiefs’ home opener Monday night.
On Tuesday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show,” the ESPN host recounted his encounter with Swift while explaining how he managed to get a selfie with the pop superstar, despite an apparent no-photo policy in her celebrity-filled suite at Arrowhead Stadium. McAfee made his “Monday Night Football” debut during Kansas City’s 31-10 victory over the Denver Broncos.
“I potentially talked to Tom Cruise last night,” McAfee said of the “Mission: Impossible” star, who was among the guests in the suite.
“I was dripping in sweat, and he had a leather jacket on, and he didn’t have a single drop or bead of sweat anywhere.”
“Got a chance to chitchat with Miss Taylor Swift last night. Huge day… On the way out, I go, ‘Miss Taylor, is there any way I can get a selfie with you?’ She said, ‘Absolutely!’
“She was so kind. So hospitable.”
McAfee said fellow “MNF” team member Jason Kelce brought him to the suite.
“I go, ‘Miss Taylor,’ and she goes, ‘Pat!’ I go, ‘How are you?’”
After spending time filming and walking around the field, McAfee said he was “dripping sweat” when Swift opened her arms for a hug.
“Just sweat all over her,” McAfee said, noting it was their first proper meeting after a brief interaction at Swift and Kelce’s July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden.
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“‘So sorry that this happened. Great to meet you. You’re the best,’” he recalled telling Swift.
McAfee explained that he watched Kelce’s 59-yard catch in the third quarter from the tight end’s suite with “the Kelce-Swift family,” who he described as “excited, enthusiastic and bought-in.”
“Hey, she’s all in. She is… every snap. It was… that was the most into-it suite we’ve ever been in,” he said. “Everybody in there was all in, and then [Travis] had that [59]-yard catch. We were in there for that. Oh my god. That was like what being a football fan was like… because I don’t know how much she was into football.”
“Watching them experience a game was fantastic. They’re all-in, though,” he said of Swift and everyone else in the suite.
Swift’s mom, Andrea, who McAfee said brought candied bacon, and dad, Scott, as well as her mother-in-law, Donna Kelce, were all also in the suite.
Swift was also seen talking with Cruise.
She opted to skip the 2026 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles to attend the Chiefs’ home opener.
The 14-time Grammy winner — nominated for five Emmys for her concert special, “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show” — made a cameo in a pre-recorded “Law & Order: SVU” skit with Mariska Hargitay, host of the 2026 Emmys.
Swift did not take home any awards.
Kansas City hosts the Colts on Sunday night.