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.
Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Will Play In 2025
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is planning to play in 2025, as first reported by ESPN’s Pat McAfee and confirmed by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Kelce’s comments on his podcast after the Super Bowl indicated that he was considering retirement after 12 seasons and 200 games between the regular season and the playoffs. With a $12.5MM roster bonus due on March 15, the Chiefs reportedly set a March 14 deadline for his decision. When asked about Kelce at the Combine, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach both said that they expect him to play this year. (Veach also shot down the idea of a hard deadline for Kelce’s decision.)
McAfee then reached out directly to Kelce, who responded via text that he is “coming back for sure.” The four-time All-Pro promised to get in the best shape of his career in order to “get back to the mountaintop.”
“[I] got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle,” Kelce continued. “I can’t go out like that!!!!”
Indeed, Kelce was one of many Chiefs to struggle in the Super Bowl, finishing with just four receptions for 39 yards. The offense was shut out in the first half and only managed six points in the third quarter. They added two more touchdowns in the fourth, but the game was all but over by that point.
With Kelce set to return this year, the Chiefs will likely explore a contract extension to lower his $19.8MM cap hit, especially with Trey Smith now on the franchise tag. Such an agreement wouldn’t ensure that Kelce will play beyond the 2025 season; rather, it would allow the Chiefs to prorate more of his cap burden into the future.
For now, though, Kelce (and Smith) will be playing for the Chiefs in 2025 as they vie for their fourth Super Bowl in five years.
Chiefs Expect Travis Kelce To Play In 2025
Travis Kelce has yet to make a firm declaration about his playing future. As the Chiefs await word on that front, it is clear they anticipate having him in the fold next year.
To no surprise, both head coach Andy Reid and general manager Brett Veach were asked on Tuesday about Kelce’s status. Neither confirmed the future Hall of Famer will play in 2025, but that is the team’s expectation at this point. While Kansas City was recently connected to setting a deadline for a decision (March 14, early in the start of the new league year) Veach’s comments point to Kelce having all the time needed to make a commitment one way or the other after recent conversations with the team.
“He has one more year under contract and still think he has that fire and desire to play,” Veach said of the 35-year-old (via Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk). “As far as I’m concerned, there is no deadline. I think we left it at he’d be back and we’re excited to get him back and get him going.”
Kelce’s 823 yards in 2024 marked his lowest total since his rookie year, and his yards-per-reception average (8.5) continued his notable decline in efficiency. Still, the four-time All-Pro has proven to be a reliable target throughout the Chiefs’ run of success and he would be counted on to remain atop the depth chart in the event he were to suit up for a 13th campaign. Kelce is due $17.25MM in 2025 with a scheduled cap hit of $19.8MM.
Kansas City could look to lower the latter figure with a restructure adding further void years onto the 10-time Pro Bowler’s pact. A call on that front will of course not be needed until a final decision is made on Kelce’s part. No timeline is in place for a 2025 commitment to be announced at this point, but how Kelce decides to proceed will be critical as the Chiefs aim to make another Super Bowl run. Optimism is obviously high in the organization that he will remain available for at least one more campaign.
Chiefs Want Travis Kelce Retirement Decision By March 14
The Chiefs are giving Travis Kelce a month to make a decision on his future. According to Nate Taylor and Cale Clinton of The Athletic, the Chiefs have set a March 14 deadline for Kelce to commit to the 2025 season.
While Kelce could try to squeeze more time from his team, the Chiefs do have some leverage via the tight end’s impending roster bonus. Kelce is due an $11.5MM bonus on March 15, and it’s no coincidence that the organization wants clarity before that date. Plus, free agency opens on March 10, so the Chiefs are already sacrificing some crucial roster certainty with this ultimatum.
The 2025 campaign will represent the final year of Kelce’s four-year, $57MM extension from 2020. The future Hall of Famer will be attached to a $19.8MM cap hit, more than half of which comes from that aforementioned roster bonus. While the Chiefs would surely welcome back Kelce regardless of the financials, that’s still a hefty cap charge, and our own Nikhil Mehta recently suggested that the front office could look to lower that hit via a cap-manipulating extension.
In his age-35 season, Kelce compiled some of the worst receiving numbers of his career. He finished the year with a career-low 51.4 yards per game, and his three touchdowns also marked a new career-low. Those numbers did see a jump when it mattered, as Kelce hauled in 13 receptions for 175 yards during the Chiefs’ three-game postseason run.
If Kelce does hang up his cleats, the Chiefs could look towards in-house options to fill the void. Former fifth-round pick Noah Gray finished the year with career-highs in receptions (40), receiving yards (437), touchdowns (five), and offensive snaps (664). This year’s TE free agency class mostly consists of complementary players, including Mike Gesicki and Juwan Johnson.
Travis Kelce Weighing Future, Not Committed To Playing In 2025
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce isn’t sure if he is going to return to the NFL for his 13th season in 2025. After conflicting reports emerged about the all-time tight end great’s status before Super Bowl LIX, he has since addressed the prospect of a potential retirement.
“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year. Right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road.” said Kelce on his New Heights podcast after the Super Bowl (via Around The NFL’s Nick Shook).
Kelce is entering the final season of his contract with the Chiefs and will count for $19.8MM against the salary cap. Most of that comes from a $11.5MM roster bonus due on March 15, per OverTheCap, setting up a potential deadline for his decision. Kelce, however, doesn’t seem to be in a rush.
“I think I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,” continued the 35-year-old tight end. “I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back, it’s going to be something that it’s a wholehearted decision.”
Kelce mentioned the “wear and tear” on his body over the last 12 years as a key consideration as he mulls his future. The 2013 third-round pick has proven to be a durable player throughout his career, appearing in at least 15 games for the last 11 seasons. His only major absence was due to knee surgery as a rookie; since then, Kelce has consistently played through minor injuries and ranks 26th among all active players in career starts.
The 10-time Pro Bowler also leads active players with 25 career playoff starts, something he alluded to on the podcast.
“I’ve been fortunate over the past five, six years, I’ve played more football than anybody,” said Kelce. “It’s because the people that are in that building and the fact that we keep going to these AFC championships, these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league.”
If Kelce elects to return, Kansas City may want to sign him to an extension to lower his 2025 cap hit. Such a deal would not signal that Kelce is committed to playing beyond 2025; it would simply be a way for the Chiefs to push more of his cap burden into the future.