A long journey awaits Chiefs, but here’s why George Karlaftis won’t get jet lag
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- George Karlaftis embraces international travel ahead of Chiefs’ opener in Brazil.
- Karlaftis cites Greek-American background and frequent trips abroad as prep.
- Chiefs defense targets stronger season start after 2024 opener lacked sacks.
George Karlaftis ... international man of travel.
The Chiefs defensive end and many of his teammates have fielded plenty of questions this week about playing Friday’s season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil: For starters, how will they handle the approximately 11-hour flight time?
Karlaftis has more answers than most because he speaks from experience.
“I’m kind of almost used to it,” Karlaftis said. “I’ve been going back and forth to Greece since I was a kid.”
Karlaftis was born in Greece to a Greek father and American mother and moved to the U.S. at a young age after his dad died. But he has family in Greece and visits there often enough to know the travel schedules of the airlines.
Asked how many hours it takes to fly from his homeland to the U.S., Karlaftis provided a qualifier.
“It depends on which route you take,” he said. “And what time of year.”
In the summer months, Karlaftis said, there are ample non-stops from cities like New York, Atlanta, Miami and Chicago. Out of season, those flights land in other European cities before arriving in Athens.
Karlaftis last made the USA-to-Greece commute in May.
“So for me it’s not that big a deal,” he said. “Being an international guy, with more and more international games, I’m all for it. I think that’s the next step in getting this great game to grow internationally.”
The Chiefs are looking for a big season from Karlaftis, who signed a four-year $93 million contract extension just before training camp opened. A first-round draft pick in 2022, Karalftis has 24 1/2 career sacks and eight in 10 playoff games.
But he doesn’t have a sack in a regular-season opener, and the team got off to a slow start in that department last season. Karlaftis said this season’s defense is looking to alter that trend.
“We’ve kind of talked about that amongst ourselves,” he said. “It’s definitely one of the motivators we have going into the season.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2025 at 2:27 PM.