While there are conflicting reports as to whether Travis Kelce is returning to play a 14th season and for which team, one thing is clear — he still loves to play the game
“It’s a tough thing to navigate, but at the same time, I think if my body can heal up and rest up and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18, 20, 21-week run, I think I would do it in a heartbeat,” he said on his “New Heights” podcast in January.
“I think right now it’s just finding that answer and seeing how the body feels after this game and when it all settles down.”
In last week’s episode, the 36-year-old spoke about what he’d miss most.
GettyConflicting reports on Travis Kelce’s future with the Chiefs draw attention before free agency.
“Those moments of rising to the occasion in the heat of the battle, you know, in the playoffs and all the big games out there, man, that’s a feeling that I know I’ll never get again. And those are the things that you cherish the most,” Kelce said.
The three-time Super Bowl champion promised to make his decision before the start of free agency on March 11. And one day before the pending free agent negotiating period officially opens on March 9, a “jarring” report on Kelce’s future in the NFL emerged.
Travis Kelce’s Agents are Speaking to ‘Multiple Teams’ Before the Start of Free Agency: Report
The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and Jesse Newell reported on Sunday, “Kelce is expected to return to play for a 14th season this year, league sources say. The twist: It isn’t a sure thing that the team he plays for would be the Kansas City Chiefs. Kelce’s representatives are expected to talk to multiple teams.”
Considering Kelce has spent his entire career in Kansas City and the strong ties he’s built within the community through his Eighty-Seven and Running Foundation, changing teams didn’t seem like it was ever a consideration. Even Russini and Newell noted, “Kelce potentially joining a new NFL team in 2026 would be jarring.”
The report must’ve come as a major surprise to the Chiefs, too. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported less than a week ago that no other teams were in the mix, that the delay was to make sure Kelce was “1,000% all in.”
“The future of Travis Kelce [is] still very much up in the air,” Rapoport said on March 2. “There has been some discussion about a potential contract… only going to play for the Kansas City Chiefs… What we know is they for sure want him back, especially considering how he played last year.”
The Athletic projects Kelce signing a one-year, $10 million contract. If it’s a money issue, the Chiefs should figure out a way to make it work. In addition to being an invaluable leader, the viewership he brings to the team, especially with his fiancée, Taylor Swift, cheering him on at games, has made the franchise millions.
Travis Kelce Informed Chiefs He Plans to Return, per Another Report
GettyTravis Kelce reportedly won’t play for any team but the Chiefs.
According to the AP’s Robert Maaddi, Kelce isn’t going anywhere. “Reported this at the combine,” Maaddi posted on X. “A person with knowledge of Kelce’s thinking told The Associated Press the four-time All-Pro tight end will not test the market.
“If the 36-year-old Kelce returns for a 14th season, it’ll be in Kansas City with coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes.”
ESPN reported on March 9 that Kelce informed the Chiefs on Monday morning that he plans to return.
The only other team that possibly made sense was the Cleveland Browns, but the current state of affairs with that franchise makes it a tough sell.
Sparking the connection to Cleveland, Kelce’s devastation over the team not drafting him in 2013. “I cried in (former Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski) Chud’s office and said, ‘I will [expletive] die for this city!’” Kelce told GQ last year. “I literally was in tears. I said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m getting emotional. I grew up down the street. I would [expletive] do anything to play for the Cleveland Browns.’
“He looked at me like I was insane. I don’t think he’d ever had somebody just pour out their emotions.”
Travis Kelce Report Stuns Chiefs 1 Day Before Contract Negotiations