Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is a key cog on a team that’s won three Super Bowls in the last six seasons.
But coming off the Chiefs blowout loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles in this year’s Super Bowl, the 35-year-old Kelce’s future was in doubt.
And now Travis Kelce just made this bold retirement announcement.
Travis Kelce answers one big question looming over the Chiefs this NFL offseason
Despite having all-world quarterback Patrick Mahomes under center, last season the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t the offensive juggernaut they were in year’s past.
The Chiefs finished 15th in the league in scoring and their offensive limitations were exposed by the Eagles’ defense in the Super Bowl.
Specifically, the Chiefs lacked much in the way of down field threats the Eagles’ defense needed to respect.
Kelce had his worst season in nearly a decade, racking up just 823 yards receiving and three touchdowns before sputtering out with 4 catches for 49 yards in the Super Bowl.
There was speculation that Kelce would follow his brother Jason into retirement after last season, allowing him to focus on the brothers’ popular New Heights podcast and his relationship with pop megastar Taylor Swift.
With NFL free agency set to open up, Kelce owed the Chiefs his answer.
Travis Kelce will come back for one more season
And Kelce gave his answer on his podcast saying he was coming back for one more year because he loves playing football.
Kelce said he owed it to his teammates to make up for what he admitted was a down year in 2024.
“I think the biggest thing is that I f—— love playing the game of football,” Travis said to his brother Jason.. “I love playing. I still feel like I can play it at a high level and possibly at a higher level than I did last year. I don’t think it was my best outing. I think I let my guys down in a lot more moments than I helped them, especially if you look at my track record and how I’ve been in years past. I want to give it a good run. I got a bad taste in my mouth in how I ended last year and how well I was playing and how accountable I was to the people around me.”
Travis Kelce also revealed that the Super Bowl defeat was his number one motivating factor for playing again in 2025.
“It was probably the biggest factor,” Kelce stated. “I mean, it’s a pretty cool way to go out, but I just think I would still have this love for the game. . . I think I would have thought about it more if we would’ve won.”
But 2025 may not be Kelce’s last season.
Kelce signed a two-year contract extension prior to last season and Kelce promised the Chiefs and their fans that he was back from “at least one more year.”
“Kansas City, baby, we’re back at it for at least one more year,” Kelce continued. “I can’t say whether or not this is going to be the last year because I still love a lot of what I do for the city of Kansas City and the Chiefs organization. I know I’ve got one on my contract, and I’m gonna give you everything I got, baby.”
