An emotional C.J. Gardner-Johnson delivered an expletive-filled message to his Eagles teammates on the eve of Super Bowl 2025, before Philadelphia took down the reigning champion Chiefs and the outspoken safety ignited postgame drama with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.
In a video shared Sunday on the Eagles’ YouTube page, Gardner-Johnson was among several players who addressed the team in New Orleans on Feb. 8, when he hyped up his teammates ahead of their 40-22 blowout win at Caesars Superdome.
“It’s emotional for me to be here. Talk all this s–t. Going to win,” Gardner-Johnson said.
“F–k their legacy, bro, simple. A lot of y’all been through a lot of s–t, bro, a lot of s–t. We ain’t got to say s–t if we win it cause our story is going to tell itself.”
Hours after the Eagles thwarted the Chiefs’ chances at a historic Super Bowl three-peat, Gardner-Johnson took to Instagram to share an in-game photo of himself and Kelce, 35, who has been dating pop superstar Taylor Swift since 2023.
In the post’s caption, the 27-year-old safety suggested Kelce “should’ve stayed with that thick s–t,” referring to the tight end’s former relationship with media personality Kayla Nicole.
Kelce and Kayla dated on and off for five years before calling it quits for good in 2022.
The vulgar post sparked a war with the Swifties — fans of the 14-time Grammy winner — as a Yelp page of a Florida restaurant belonging to Gardner-Johnson’s mother, Delatron Johnson, was then flooded with poor reviews.
She told TMZ the restaurant closed in late January.
Gardner-Johnson, now on his second stint with the Eagles after re-joining the team in free agency last March, fired back at Swift’s fans on Friday during the team’s championship parade in Philadelphia by adorning a sweatshirt with the vile message: “Swifties can LIX my balls.”
Swift, 35, and Kelce have laid low in the wake of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss, with the 10-time Pro Bowler now taking time to contemplate his future.
The Chiefs have given Kelce until around March 14 to inform the team of his plans, The Athletic reported last week, with a $11.5 million bonus hanging in the balance.
The All-Pro tight end, who has spent his entire 12-year career in Kansas City, posted career-lows in yards (823) and touchdowns (three) in 2024.
