It’s nacho mask, Jason.
Jason Kelce made headlines for the wild Kansas City Chiefs mask (and wardrobe malfunction-proof overalls) he sported to the team’s Super Bowl afterparty in Las Vegas Sunday.
And although the look appeared to perfectly fit Jason’s wild child personality, it turns out the mask actually belonged to a Dallas, Texas 8th-grader … and he wants it back.
The Philadelphia Eagles player, 36 — whose brother, Travis Kelce, 34, helped lead the Chiefs to Super Bowl victory against the San Francisco 49ers, the third win since 2020 — partied hard in a yellow-and-red face covering like those worn by Mexican lucha libre wrestlers as he attended the bash.
Explore More
Jason Kelce reminds wife Kylie of how they met with hilarious sweatshirt on Valentine’s Day
Kylie Kelce ‘not surprised’ by husband Jason’s drunken antics at Super Bowl 2024 afterparties: ‘Not even a little bit’
Jason Kelce chose Chiefs overalls for Super Bowl so he’d keep his shirt on: ‘More composed’
But what no one realized was the mask belonged to a young Chiefs fan who ran into Jason earlier in the night.
“I gave him my mask and then he dropped it and then picked it back up,” Elijah Smith told Dallas’ NBC affiliate in an interview Thursday.
The 8th-grade student attended a “private after party for friends and family and players and their families,” per his mother’s tweet, with other Twitter users noting the Smiths are friends of the Chiefs’ owners.
Elijah said he snapped a photo with the Eagles star wearing his mask and “just hung out” next to Jason and his crew — which included Travis, girlfriend Taylor Swift, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes and more — for a few minutes before they left for the team’s afterparty at XS Nightclub in the Wynn resort.
Smith — who has attended four prior Super Bowls with his family and wore the mask during last year’s Chiefs victory — told NBC he tried to get Jason’s attention before he left, but it was too loud at the event.
“I saw videos on Instagram this week of him wearing it at the next afterparty he went to, so he clearly never took it off the whole night,” Smith said.
The interview got back to Jason, who posted his intent to return the face covering on Twitter Friday morning.
“Operation ‘Get Elijah His Mask Back’ is underway!” he wrote. “I appreciate everyone bringing this to my attention, and look forward to uniting Elijah with his mask once again.”
“Your mask indeed brings great fortune, I owe you big time, sorry it was commandeered,” the football star added.
On this week’s episode of the brothers’ “New Heights” podcast, Jason — who rocked loud yellow-and-red Chiefs overalls to the Super Bowl — discussed his afterparty attire, admitting, “It really didn’t start getting to the next level until I found that luchador mask.”
After sharing that he originally didn’t want to steal the spotlight from Travis and his team, the father of three said, “There’s something about finding that luchador mask that really just transformed the night. It really did.”
The popular Eagles player continued that he “found the mask on the dance floor at the first afterparty spot” and even though people were walking all over it, he thought, “oh hell yes.”
Jason didn’t seem to remember his encounter with the young Chiefs fan, however, stating, “sorry to whoever I stole that from.”
At the end of the day, the Smith family just wants their good luck charm back.
Elijah’s dad, Thad Smith, told NBC, “Jason if you’re listening, we just need the mask back before the season starts. Because it’s a lucky mask, and so the Chiefs need the luck. I’m sorry we’re not Eagles fans.”
