Chiefs To Re-Sign Travis Kelce
4:30pm: A deal has now been finalized, Rapoport’s colleague Tom Pelissero reports. This will be a one-year pact with a base value of $12MM, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Kelce can earn up to $15MM in 2026.
10:31am: Travis Kelce has long said he could not envision himself in another NFL uniform. Despite a rumor that indicated a potentially shocking late-career address change was possible, the career-long Chief does not look to be going anywhere.
Set to return for a 14th season, Kelce is indeed expected to do so with the Chiefs, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. While no deal is official yet, teams interested in potentially poaching the superstar tight end may need to stand down.
Sunday’s report indicated Kelce was likely to speak with other teams as a free agent. Kelce, 36, had played out his contract — one agreed to in 2020 and modified to include a raise in 2024 — and joined his brother as a late-career free agent. Jason Kelce finished his career on multiple Eagles one-year contracts.
The other future Hall of Fame Kelce may be in line for a one-year Chiefs accord. SI.com’s Albert Breer tweets a one-year pact is expected. A contract worth up to $15MM is viewed as the potential compensation, per The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, who indicates no deal has been finalized. Russini, though, continues to report Kelce is exploring the market and has not finalized a return to Kansas City. This could be a negotiating tactic, as Kelce had previously left little mystery about his desire to stay.
Kelce is one of the greatest players in Chiefs history, being a cornerstone piece of five Super Bowl teams and three champions. The Chiefs landed Kelce in the 2013 third round, and after he missed most of his rookie season due to microfracture knee surgery, the Cincinnati alum showed star potential alongside Alex Smith. The Kelce-Tyreek Hill tandem hit another gear when Patrick Mahomes took over in 2018, and Kelce smashed the NFL record for most 1,000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end. Kelce’s seven, a streak started with Smith at the helm, are three more than any other tight end.
Rumors about a Kelce retirement swirled after a Chiefs 6-11 season. The franchise’s worst record in Kelce’s tenure did not move the gregarious tight end/world-famous fiancé to walk away. Despite some untimely drops last season, Kelce improved on his 2024 step backward by totaling 76 receptions for 851 yards and five touchdowns. Although Mahomes did not play in the Chiefs’ final three games due to ACL and LCL tears, Kelce upped his yards-per-catch average to 11.2 — his first mark past 11 since a first-team All-Pro 2022 season.
The Chiefs had extended Kelce in 2016 and then in 2020. The 2020 deal briefly stood as the game’s top TE contract, before George Kittle‘s first 49ers re-up, and Kelce certainly has not been paid in accordance with the value he has provided the Chiefs. Kansas City did give him a $4MM raise after Super Bowl LVIII, making him the game’s highest-paid tight end once again. Kelce not maximizing his value has helped the Chiefs, though it has also played a role in no tight end being tied to a $20MM-per-year deal — as the wideout market is now past $40MM AAV.
Kelce was the lead factor in the Chiefs overcoming a shaky post-Hill receiving situation en route to 2022 and 2023 Super Bowl wins, and he helped Mahomes and Co. to the threepeat precipice — as the first two-time champ to reach a Super Bowl the following season — though did not play especially well against the Eagles. Vowing not to end his career after that blowout loss, Kelce looks set to make a similar pledge after the Chiefs endured a Super Bowl LIX hangover. While the Chiefs’ 2026 roster will look different, their core three performers — Mahomes, Kelce and Chris Jones — are prepared for at least one more year together.
Kelce’s return stands to help a Chiefs team that has still run into trouble staffing its receiver posts. While Xavier Worthy‘s rookie contract runs through 2027, Rashee Rice has battled injuries and a suspension. And an ugly accusation of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend could put the talented wideout in the NFL’s crosshairs once again. The Chiefs, who also have Marquise Brown unsigned for 2026, are at least poised to have Kelce anchoring at least one more Mahomes-piloted pass attack.
Travis Kelce Expected To Play In 2026; TE Likely To Talk To Other Teams
Two months since the end of a disappointing Chiefs season, future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce has not announced whether he will return in 2026. The 11-time Pro Bowler is expected to play a 14th season, however, according to Dianna Russini and Jesse Newell of The Athletic.
Kelce has spent his entire career in Kansas City, where he has established himself as an all-time great and helped the team to three Super Bowl titles. Shockingly, though, the 36-year-old pending free agent is not a lock to re-sign with the Chiefs, Russini and Newell report. The belief is that Kelce’s camp will talk to other clubs.
Kelce indicated in November that he would decide his future before the new league year, which begins Wednesday. Until now, the assumption was that Kelce would either re-up with the Chiefs or retire.
With moving elsewhere looking like a potential option, Kelce could jump to the top of the free agent tight end market. Kyle Pitts had been on track to lead the way until the Falcons placed the franchise tag on him. Isaiah Likely, Dallas Goedert, Chig Okonkwo, Cade Otton and Jonnu Smith are among notables still without contracts, but all of their resumes pale in comparison to Kelce’s.
Despite his age, Kelce continued as one of the NFL’s most productive tight ends during a 17-game campaign in 2025. The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder ranked fourth at the position in yards (851) and sixth in catches (76), and he added five touchdowns. With 13,002 career yards, Kelce is 45 away from passing Jason Witten for second all-time among tight ends. He is third at the position in receptions (1,080) and fifth in TDs (82).
Since the Chiefs stole him in the third round of the 2013 draft, Kelce has played for one head coach (Andy Reid) and teamed with two starting quarterbacks. After working with Alex Smith for the first half-decade of his career, Kelce and future Hall of Fame signal-caller Patrick Mahomes began forming a legendary duo in 2018. Eight years later, their partnership may be coming to an end.
Chiefs’ Andy Reid Speaks On TE Travis Kelce, WR Tyreek Hill
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid created a couple headlines today as he addressed media questions on two veteran players who used to be the main levers of quarterback Patrick Mahomes‘ success. While Reid continued to keep the door open for the return of tight end Travis Kelce, he was quick to temper expectations that Kansas City would definitely pursue newly released wide receiver Tyreek Hill. 
According to Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star, Reid informed the media that communication with Kelce had been ongoing. “There is communication,” he began (via ESPN’s Nate Taylor). “That’s the main thing. I’ve said this before: as long as there’s communication, I’m good. That means people want to move forward. I think that’s where Travis is.”
This question has been hanging over Kansas City since last summer. Looking ahead at the expiration of his current deal following the 2025 NFL season, Kelce made it known he was undecided on what would come next, but he soon came to the conclusion that he had no plans of finishing his career with any team but the Chiefs. As the team came out of their bye week with a loss putting them at 5-5 and longshots for the postseason, Kelce’s considerations once again turned to his future, and he staked his claim that he would come by a decision before the start of the 2026 league year.
If Kelce is going to return, though, he’s going to need a new contract. Looking forward to that possibility, Joel Curry of CBS Sports ventured to guess what that may look like for the 36-year-old tight end. It’s been clear over the past three years that Kelce is not quite the super star he consistently had proven to be from 2016-22. That being said, he has still routinely been among the top five players at his position. With 76 catches for 851 yards and five touchdowns, Kelce put up the fourth-most receiving yards for tight ends in 2025.
Still, it doesn’t seem likely he will be able to continue pulling in an average annual value of $17.13MM — good for third amongst tight ends, behind only Trey McBride ($19MM) and George Kittle ($19.1MM). It doesn’t even seem likely that he’ll have the fourth-highest AAV to match his productive output. In order to figure out how much Kelce might make in 2026, Curry drew a couple comparisons. He looked back to the years 2012 & 2013, when veteran tight ends Jermichael Finley and Tony Gonzalez each signed two-year, $14MM deals, respectively. With the salary cap at that point in time being $123MM, Curry calculates that the equivalent of a $7MM-per-year deal in 2025 would be a one-year, $17.25MM deal.
Again, though, it’s hard to imagine Kelce getting a raise in a return to play, so Curry draws comparisons to more current examples like Ravens tight end Mark Andrews and Steelers tight end Jonnu Smith. Andrews, 30, recently signed a three-year, $39.27MM deal (with an AAV of $13.09MM), and Smith signed with the Steelers on a one-year, $12.01MM contract for 2026. Andrews’ deal was a slight pay reduction after making $14MM per year on his last contract, while Smith’s was a reward for a breakout campaign just before turning 30. Putting all these examples together, and assuming that Kelce would more likely than not sign a team-friendly deal, a one-year contract worth anywhere from $12MM to $14MM seems feasible.
When it came to the possible pursuit of Hill, Reid was quick to point out some potential speed bumps in the way of an immediate reunion. “I don’t even know if Tyreek is healthy right now to do anything,” Reid told reporters, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “I’m sure he’s working hard on that part of it, trying to get all that straightened out. We talk about everything, so there’s nothing happening there, but we know what you know, and he’s out there cranking away trying to get himself back to where he can play, period.”
While Reid surely didn’t confirm anything, he didn’t definitively shut anything down either. Along with the hiring of former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and the potential returns of Kelce and Hill, it would be interesting to see the Chiefs turn back the clock for Mahomes as he continues to work through the recovery of his torn ACL and LCL.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Leaning Towards Continuing Playing Career?
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s contract expired at the end of the 2025 season, which put retirement squarely on the table for the 36-year-old. Although he was not prepared to make a decision on his playing future in the immediate aftermath of the campaign, he did say he would make up his mind before the start of the new league year in March. As of now, signs are pointing to a return to the field in 2026.
According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic (subscription required), a 14th season for Kelce “is looking more real than ever,” and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says Kelce and the team have been in touch about a continuation of his on-field career. Rapoport adds, to no surprise, that KC wants the future Hall of Famer back.
To that end, the two sides plan to reconvene after Super Bowl LX to finalize a mutually-workable plan. It is unclear exactly when Kelce will formally announce his decision, but it would be fair to expect a new contract to be hammered out between a player and a team that have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship.
The return of longtime offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to the Chiefs’ staff in his familiar OC role may have made Kelce more inclined to come back. His comments on the matter suggested as much.
“I can’t wait to see him back in the building, man,” Kelce said. “He’s one of my favorite coaches of all time, one of my favorite people of all time. I’ve had so many unbelievable growing moments under him as a player, as a person, and I just love the guy.”
The Chiefs posted a 6-11 record in 2025, but Kelce himself enjoyed another strong season, recording 76 catches for 851 yards and five scores. After posting a career-low 8.5-yards-per-reception rate in 2024, Kelce was back to double-digits last year with an 11.2 mark.
Speculatively, it could be that Kelce does not want to end his playing days following a season in which the Chiefs missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. Even so, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests money could be a complicating factor.
As of the time of this writing, Kansas City is projected to be roughly $55MM over the salary cap, which puts the team in the worst financial situation in the league. It is unclear how much the Chiefs are willing to pay Kelce, but it would be surprising for him to earn over $17MM per year on his next contract, as he was on his most recent deal.
Of course, there are plenty of machinations that will allow KC to become cap-compliant and to keep the players it prioritizes. While Rapoport acknowledges the team’s current cap status, he does not believe it will create a real hurdle to a Kelce re-up.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Will Not Make Immediate Decision On Future
The 2025 campaign didn’t go as planned for the Chiefs, who will not make a fourth straight Super Bowl trip. The Chiefs’ streak of 10 consecutive playoff berths snapped during a 6-11 season in which quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL. A healthy Mahomes will aim to rebound in 2026, but it’s unknown whether he has thrown his last pass to his favorite target, tight end Travis Kelce.
While Kelce is set to become a free agent, the career-long Chief seems more likely to retire than to sign with another team. After a season-ending loss to the Raiders on Sunday, the 36-year-old indicated he hasn’t made a decision on whether to continue his career in 2026 (via Jesse Newell of The Athletic).
“I mean, who knows? Who knows? Either it hits me quick, or I’ve got to take some time,” Kelce said. “I think last year was a little bit easier. I think I knew right away I wanted to give this one a shot. So we’ll see.”
Kelce considered retirement after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIX loss to the Eagles last February, but it wasn’t a drawn-out process. Just under three weeks later, it became clear he’d play again in 2025. While it went down as a disappointing year for the team, Kelce remained among the NFL’s most productive tight ends. He led Chiefs skill players in offensive snap share (81%) while finishing fourth at his position in yards (851), sixth in catches (76) and 13th in touchdowns (five).
Kelce only totaled 12 yards in Week 18, but it was enough to reach the 13,000-yard mark for his career. The 13-year veteran became the quickest tight end to achieve that milestone, doing so in 192 games. Kelce ranks third all-time at his position in receptions (1,080) and yards (13,002), and he’s fifth in TDs (82). While it’s possible Kelce won’t add to those numbers, longtime teammate Chris Jones expects him to return in 2026
“I’m not buying it,” Jones said of a potential Kelce retirement. “He’ll be back next year.”
If Jones is right, the Chiefs will have to hammer out another agreement with Kelce in the coming months. Kelce is currently scheduled to join names such as Kyle Pitts, David Njoku and Isaiah Likely on the list of free agent tight ends, but it would be shocking to see him don a different uniform in 2026.
Travis Kelce: Chiefs Future To Be Decided Before 2026 League Year Begins
Leading up to the Chiefs’ loss in Super Bowl LIX, questions were raised about a potential Travis Kelce retirement. The future Hall of Famer ultimately made it clear his career would continue in 2025.
As of June, Kelce had not committed to suiting up beyond the current season. The pending free agent’s future is still not certain on that front, but he has offered an update on his situation. Kelce’s latest comments indicate he will have a decision in place before the start of the 2026 league year.
“I want to give the Chiefs a good opportunity, whether I come back or not — or whether they want me back or not,” the 36-year-old said (via ESPN’s Nate Taylor). “I’d like to make that decision before they’ve got to get draft picks and free agency opens to fill the roster appropriately.”
Kelce specified he will not arrive at a commitment one way or another until this coming offseason. The three-time Super Bowl champion will not play for a team other than Kansas City, but the Chiefs will need to decide on a new financial commitment in the near future. Kelce agreed to a two-year, $34.25MM pact in 2024; that deal places him near the top of the financial pecking order at the tight end spot.
A pay cut would come as a surprise if the four-time All-Pro does wind up playing next year. On the other hand, Kansas City could benefit from another one-year Kelce accord. A 2010s All-Decade Team member, he saw a major downturn in production last season before experiencing a notable turnaround in 2025. Kelce has posted 631 yards and four touchdowns on 50 catches so far this year.
It remains to be seen if Kelce’s resurgence will be enough for the Chiefs to reach the playoffs, and the team faces a number of questions heading into the offseason either way. One of the main talking points surrounding Kansas City will of course surround Kelce and his desire to continue playing. This will no doubt remain a storyline until further clarity emerges.
The 2026 league year will begin on March 11 with free agency officially opening. By that point, based on today’s comments, Kelce and the Chiefs will know where they stand with respect to retirement.
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce Not Planning To Finish Career Elsewhere
Three weeks ago, veteran Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was undecided on his future once his contract expires at the end of the coming season. He claimed that he couldn’t see himself “ever playing anywhere else,” but with things up in the air still, he resolved to “deal with that down the road.” In an appearance on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast a week ago, Kelce set the record straight.
When asked by former NFL linebacker Will Compton if he could see himself in another uniform, Kelce told the crew, “At this point, no. Maybe if you would’ve asked me that maybe like a contract or two ago, I’d have been like, you know, I’d keep it open.”
He went on, waxing poetic about his affinity for Kansas City. Highlighting the connections he’s developed within the community, his relationship with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whom he referred to as “family,” head coach Andy Reid‘s role as a mentor in his life, Kelce told the crew how he’ll always have a home in Kansas City.
The three-time Super Bowl champion is not ignorant of what the future holds, though. Heading into a contract year during which he will turn 36 years old, Kelce seems fully aware that, at some point, a business decision will be made by the Chiefs. While Kelce still has the ability to contribute to the Kansas City offense, putting up career lows in yardage and touchdowns in 2024 — not including his single-snap rookie season — continued a trend of decreasing production from his 2023 campaign.
Regardless of his contributions in the upcoming season, the Chiefs are going to have to start thinking long-term and investing young at the position. The team recently extended Noah Gray, who picked up a good amount of slack last year, while fourth-round rookie Jared Wiley saw one target in seven games before sitting out the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
With the writing beginning to appear on the wall, Kelce’s certainly made himself no stranger to life after football. With his own New Heights podcast that he hosts with his retired brother, Jason Kelce, an appearance on Saturday Night Live, acting credits in television shows like Moonbase 8 and Grotesquerie, and a soon-to-be-seen role in the long-awaited Happy Gilmore sequel, it’s hard to imagine Kelce disappearing from the spotlight any time soon. Whatever his future holds, it seems it won’t include him sporting a helmet with anything but an arrowhead on it.
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Undecided On Post-2025 Future
Retirement questions surrounded Travis Kelce leading up to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss. In short order, though, the future Hall of Famer made it clear he will suit up for 2025.
Kelce was away from the Chiefs during voluntary work this spring, but he is in attendance for this week’s mandatory minicamp. The 35-year-old spoke to the media following practice, and while doing so he confirmed a decision was made not long after the Chiefs’ bid for a third straight championship fell short. 2025 will mark his 13th NFL season, all of them with Kansas City.
From 2016-22, Kelce topped 1,000 yards and was a mainstay on the league’s All-Pro teams. The 10-time Pro Bowler saw his production dip in 2023, however, and last year his yardage (823) and touchdown (three) totals were his lowest since his one-game rookie campaign. Kelce refuted Tuesday’s report that he has shed 25 pounds this offseason, but he has targeted a return to his previous form in terms of speed and mobility for what could be the final year of his career.
“I got one year on this contract — I know that,” Kelce said, via The Athletic’s Zak Keefer (subscription required). “The Chiefs organization knows how much I love them. I can’t see myself ever playing anywhere else. So we’ll deal with that down the road.”
Kelce and the Chiefs worked out a pay bump last spring, as new guarantees came into play without term being added to his pact. The three-time Super Bowl winner is owed $17.25MM this season with a cap hit of just over $19.8MM. Those figures will of course bring about high expectations regarding production, but the matter of Kelce’s playing future beyond 2025 will remain a talking point in the absence of an extension.
Kansas City already has a number of notable contracts on the books (with a big-ticket commitment to guard Trey Smith looming), and the team is among those currently projected to be over the cap next year. Keeping Kelce in the fold for 2026 would represent a financial challenge as a result, although the team would of course show interest in doing so he if were to continue his career further. For now, Kelce’s attention is focused on the coming campaign with another decision on his playing future several months away.
Trey Smith, Travis Kelce In Attendance For Chiefs Minicamp
A pair of notable Chiefs veterans showed up for the start of mandatory minicamp today. According to Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com, offensive lineman Trey Smith was in attendance for today’s practice. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes that tight end Travis Kelce also showed up for minicamp. Both players were absent from voluntary OTAs.
Smith’s absence was likely contract related, as the veteran is pushing for a long-term extension after being slapped with the franchise tag. The guard already inked his tender, locking him into a guaranteed $23.4MM salary for the 2025 campaign, but he still flexed the little leverage he had in pursuit of a new contract.
We heard back in April that the Chiefs front office was planning to pivot to a Smith extension after the draft. That’s the last we heard about a potential deal, and it appears that the two sides have made little progress since. There is a bit of urgency when it comes to an extension, as the Chiefs and Smith only have until the middle of July to agree to a new deal. Otherwise, the lineman will be forced to play out the upcoming season on the franchise tag.
The former sixth-round pick has emerged as a mainstay on Kansas City’s offensive line, missing only a single regular season game over the past four years. Pro Football Focus has consistently graded Smith as a top-15 offensive guard, including a 2024 campaign where he finished 14th among 77 qualifiers. Smith’s franchise tag currently puts him atop his position from an AAV standpoint, and an extension would presumably come in around $20MM annually.
It’s uncertain why Kelce no-showed voluntary practices, although his absence could be related to his flirtation with retirement. Notably, the veteran tight end showed up today 25 pounds lighter than 2024, per Fowler. Kelce is coming off one of the least productive seasons of his career; other than his one-game rookie campaign, the tight end’s 824 receiving yards in 2024 represented a new career-low.
Travis Kelce On Decision To Play In 2025
Travis Kelce‘s future was a talking point leading up to Super Bowl LIX, and that remained the case after the game. It was learned during last week’s Combine, however, that the future Hall of Famer will remain with the Chiefs for at least one more season.
“I love playing,” Kelce said during an episode of his New Heights podcast (via NFL.com). “I still feel like I can play [football] 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 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… I just feel like there’s a responsibility in me to play out the contract that I initially signed, to give Kansas City and the Chiefs organization everything that I’ve got, and that’s what I’m going to do, man.”
One year remains on Kelce’s contract, and in the absence of an extension being worked out he will no doubt continue to face questions about his playing future. The 35-year-old remained a focal point of the Chiefs’ passing attack in 2024, drawing 133 targets in 16 games. Kelce saw his yards per reception average drop to 8.5, however, by far the lowest mark of his career (aside from his one-game rookie campaign).
Kansas City will likely look to make at least one notable receiver addition to complement Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy this offseason, something which could lead to a decrease in Kelce’s role on offense. The 10-time Pro Bowler is nevertheless set to remain atop a tight end depth chart which also features Noah Gray, who inked a three-year extension this past September. Kelce has already won three Super Bowls, but to no surprise he noted the manner in which the Chiefs lost to the Eagles in this year’s title contest played a role in his decision to come back.
The 2010s All-Decade Team member already has one of the most decorated resumes at the tight end position, and Kelce will continue to add to it in 2025. As the Chiefs aim for another Super Bowl berth, one of the most impactful players in franchise history will look to return to his previous form on at least a short-term basis.