Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Addresses Eventual Retirement From NFL

Getty Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce at the 2023 Super Bowl Parade.

Kansas City Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce will turn 34 years old during the 2023 season, but he’s also coming off a truly legendary campaign where he put up 1,338 receiving yards (second-highest total of his career) and 12 touchdowns (most of his career) plus another 257 yards and four TDs during the Super Bowl run.

And by the way, he did all this after losing Tyreek Hill and becoming the focus of every opposing defense that the Chiefs faced in 2022. Impressive.

Having said that, age is always a concern in the NFL and with three years left on his current deal, some are still wondering if Kelce will decide to call it quits after 2025. During an interview with Bleacher Report’s Scott Polacek on April 25, the future Hall of Famer silenced those theories once again.

“I absolutely love what I’m doing [and] I love doing it here in Kansas City,” Kelce voiced after being asked about his eventual retirement. “I don’t even want to think about putting a time limit on this. My body still feels good, I still feel like I can help the Kansas City Chiefs win. On top of that, every single day is a blast coming into the building.”

Kelce concluded that “I’m definitely having fun and haven’t put much thought into [retiring].”

Chiefs’ Travis Kelce Admits 2023 Super Bowl vs Eagles Meant a Little More

There you have, Kelce does not appear to be retiring anytime soon, but he did admit something else to Polacek.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever top that feeling,” Kelce stated while discussing the 2023 Super Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Although, he did add that “I want to see if we can.”

Because of his sibling rivalry with Eagles center Jason Kelce, Travis noted that he “wanted this [championship] more than I wanted a game in my life.”

He explained: “Obviously me and my brother played against each other, so it just meant that much more for my family and friends and where I come from. It’s been awesome to relive those moments after the season ended.”

Kelce went on, reflecting: “During the football season, you’re so dialed into each and every week and your body and getting your mind right. You don’t get to see the loved ones and your friends and family. So getting back to Cleveland and being able to see everyone and relive the moments that they had watching the Super Bowl has been the coolest part.”

Travis Kelce Wants Chiefs to Win Back-to-Back Super Bowls in 2023 & 2024

It may be hard to top beating his older brother in the title game, but Kelce does have his eye on one accomplishment that could take the cake — back-to-back championships.

“There’s been a special group of guys in the NFL who have been able to win one Super Bowl, two Super Bowls,” he said. “I think you share a little bit more of a special bond if you get that back-to-back Super Bowl. That bond with the teammates and the guys you do that with can be really special and really legendary. That’s really going to drive me this year, to experience that with the guys I know we can go get another one with.”

Kansas City came close to winning consecutive Super Bowls after defeating the San Francisco 49ers in 2019-20 but came up short versus Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the following winter. Now, Patrick Mahomes II, Kelce and head coach Andy Reid have an opportunity to do so again.

It won’t be easy, however.  The AFC is tougher than ever before, and an already grueling gauntlet of opposing quarterbacks just added four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to the mix. Oh yes, back-to-back titles would be “special” indeed.