Travis Kelce was caught on a hot mic calling the NFL’s decision to get rid of the chain gang “bulls–t.”
The superstar tight end and husband to music mogul Taylor Swift was heard yelling at NFL referee Bill Vinovich, who spoke to Seahawks practice squad player Uso Seumalo during Kansas City’s final preseason game against the Seahawks, which they lost 9-0.
“We’re doing a virtual measurement just to check the technology,” Vinovich said to the Seahawks defensive line as shown on Tuesday’s episode of HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
As Seumalo asked about how they do that, Kelce can be heard yelling from the offensive huddle.
“It’s magic,” Vinovich said before being interrupted by Kelce.
“Man bring the chains back man,” Kelce yelled. “This is some bulls–t.”
“See? Travis Kelce agrees with me,” Seumalo joked as the referee chuckled.
The chain gang is no longer used as a measurement system for the league. They’ve been replaced by Sony’s Hawk-Eye system as the primary method to determine first downs and spots of the ball.
Though officials still spot the ball by hand, Hawk Eye only measures whether the hand-placed spot reached the line to gain.
The league claims that replacing the chain gang’s measurements will save roughly 40 seconds per measurement with roughly 12 official measurements per week or .7-.8 per game.
The chain gang will still follow the game, including first downs and such, but the game will look a little different this year.
The Chiefs open the season on “Monday Night Football” as Kansas City heads to Denver to face the Broncos in a pivotal AFC West season opener.
