Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Kansas City Chiefs GM reveals Travis Kelce’s Retirement Decision!

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Travis Kelce is one of the greatest tight ends, if not the greatest, to play in the NFL. He is a huge part of what the Chiefs have been able to accomplish so far, along with QB Patrick Mahomes, and head coach Andy Reid.

Kelce was drafted by the Chiefs in 2013 and has won 3 Super Bowls, is a 10x Pro Bowler, and was selected to the All-Pro team 7 times in his career (four-1st Teams and three-2nd teams). In fact Kelce is only behind Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten for the most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history.

Travis Kelce exits #SuperBowlLIX after what could be the final game of his NFL career

(via @RobMaaddi) pic.twitter.com/JYgqCebmTT
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 10, 2025

Has Travis Kelce regressed as a player?

In the last two seasons, Kelce’s numbers have taken a bit of a hit. After gaining 1000 yards or more for 7 straight seasons, his numbers are slowly and steadily coming down. In the 2023 season, Kelce had 984 receiving yards, 93 receptions, and 5 receiving touchdowns. Whereas in the 2024 regular season, Kelce finished with 97 receptions, 823 yards, and three touchdowns. While the numbers are not bad by most standards, it is still a noticeable step down from his peak years.

Also Read: NFL Scouting Combine 2025 – Who Are The Notable Absentees From The 2025 NFL Combine?

Father time is undefeated and it comes for everybody. It does not matter how talented you are, but apart from maybe Lebron James, everybody starts declining after a certain age. For Travis Kelce, that time is coming and we do not know how long he intends to play in the NFL. He is 35 years old, soon to be 36, and after the Super Bowl LIX loss against the Eagles, he stated on his brother’s podcast that he may not return to play in the NFL.

Recently, Chiefs’ GM Brett Veach revealed a little details about Travis Kelce’s retirement decisions. Let’s find out what he said.

Veach said there’s no deadline, but Kelce sounded “fired up” about next year!

The Kansas City Chiefs’ GM Brett Veach said at the NFL Combine that he and Kelce had a conversation and they left it as if “he’d be back next season.” Veach said “How we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up.”

He continued “He has one more year under contract and (I) still think that he has that fire and desire to play. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no deadline. I think we left it as if he’d be back and we’re excited to get him back and get him going.”

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Travis Kelce’s Contract Situation

If Kelce decided to run it back with the Chiefs, it will most likely be his one last ride. Even though he’s already won three Super Bowls and has had an illustrious career, winning one more championship cannot hurt.

Kelce is still under contract with the Chiefs. His contract runs through next season as Kelce had signed a 2-year $34,250,000 contract with the Chiefs in 2024 and will only become a free agent in 2026. Looking at his contract situation and what the Chiefs’ GM said, we believe that Kelce will most likely play for one more season before he hangs up his jersey for good.

Also Read: NFL Analyst Believes That Travis Hunter Could Be A Player That Could Underachieve!

What had Travis Kelce previously said about his retirement plans?

Kelce previously went on his brother’s podcast, New Heights, and said “I’m gonna take some time to figure it out.” He continued “And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-assing it, and I’m fully here for them.”

He also talked about how he still can play for at least another season but does not know if he has the proper motivation to do so. Kelce said “I think I can play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.”

Whether Kelce retires or comes back, he will still be one of the greatest tight ends to ever play in the NFL. Depending on who you ask, Kelce is arguably a top 2/3 TE of all time. With age comes wisdom but also athletic regression and the NFL is and always will be a young man’s league.

Andy Reid

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Eric Divakaran

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I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.