Travis Kelce Retiring: The Rumors & Truth On Him Quitting Football

The idea of Travis Kelce retiring from the NFL might be unthinkable to Kansas City Chiefs fans.

But the fact is, the man is 34; he plays a physically demanding position, and — oh, and as you might have heard, he’s got a lot on his plate these days.

Yes, Travis is dating Taylor Swift, and their relationship receives far more attention than the tight end’s performance on the field.

Fans have slammed Taylor as a distraction to the team, which is obviously ridiculous.

But an argument could be made that Travis is just nearing the end of his time on the field. 

Could Travis be headed to retirement? Is he ready to embrace life after football?

There are a lot of signs that point to yes.

Travis Kelce’s Performance On The Field Has Been … Uneven

Now, for the Swifties who could care less about football, you might want to skip ahead. For the rest of you, there are a few things to consider about Travis’ performance last season.

Just, KC went to the Super Bowl and walked away victorious and yes, Travis played his heart out. 

But there were still some fumbles. (Remember his on the field fight with his coach?)

Additionally, for the first time in seven seasons, Kelce did not reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark in 2023.

He also had the lowest yards-per-reception average of his career, and he scored fewer than half as many touchdowns as he had the previous season.

All of that didn’t amount to much though when it was time to reup his contract (more on that later.)

But apart from his performance on the field, it feels like his focus is being pulled in a lot of different directions this way. 

And you can’t blame it all on Taylor!

Travis’ Big Dreams Beyond The Field Starting To Come True

In March of 2023, Travis hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time, delighting fans who had followed the footballers career and delighted in his energy. 

“The SNL stuff kind of opened up a new happiness and new career path for me,” he explained in an interview some time later.

“I’ve been fortunate to do a few things outside of the sports world that I’ve been enjoying doing, like getting on camera.”

That was back in January 2024 – and so much has happened since then!

First, he was named the host of the new game show So You Think You’re Smarter Than A Celebrity? Then, he landed a role amongst an all-star cast for Ryan Murphy’s new horror series, Grotesque. 

And now, there are strong rumors that he’ll be showing up in the sequel to Happy Gilmore – rumors that were started by star Adam Sandler himself!

So, the long and short of it is, Travis is already lining up his career outside of football. Heck, even if he just keeps up with his podcast with brother Jason Kelce, that would be enough. 

The boys are raking it in! And speaking of money…

Travis Kelce’s New Contract 

In April, two months after winning the Super Bowl, the Chiefs gave their superstar tight end Travis Kelce a significant raise with a new two-year contract.

A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the deal was worth “$34.25 million with $17 million fully guaranteed for this season and most of the rest to be guaranteed on the third day of the 2025 league year.”

That’s some serious cheddar – and a serious commitment to stay with the team!

“Hard to put in words what Travis means to this organization, this city, and he was certainly a priority to adjust his contract for us and it was something that was important for Clark [Hunt]. So very fitting that Travis [is] now the highest-paid tight end in these two years,” general manager Brett Veach said in a statement at the time.

In a video posted to X by the Chiefs, Travis added it was “an honor and a pleasure and I can’t wait to get after it these next two years … Chiefs forever.”

But as we all know, forever doesn’t actually mean forever. Just ask Tom Brady. 

So, what are Travis’ plans concerning retirement? Allow Travis to speak for himself.

Is Travis Kelce Retiring? His Answer is…

Back in January,  Travis met with the media in a press conference after a particularly rough game. Reporters were quick to ask if this will be his final season in the NFL.

“I have no reason to stop playing football,” Kelce insisted, not knowing at the time how right he was. He added. 

“I love it. We still have success, come in with the right mindset. I just love the challenge it gives me every single day to be at my best.”

Months later, while appearing on the “Rich Eisen Show”, Travis doubled down 

“It didn’t cross my mind one bit,” he said when he was asked about rumors of retiring soon. 

“I think the excitement of the challenge of this year, being able to maybe do it a third time in a row — I think that alone was all I needed. That was an instant thought, so there was really not a chance in hell that I wasn’t coming back this year.”

Travis also revealed that he’s following the advice of former NFL star Julian Edelman.

The Super Bowl-winning star said: “He was mentioning, you know, he had to hang it up when he couldn’t go out there and practice, he couldn’t get out there and work on his craft to feel like he’s accountable for the guys next to him, and that’s when he kind of started questioning it.”

“I’m just having so much fun, you know, just so appreciative and so fortunate that I’ve been able to come into year 12 and still have this energy and this love and the ability to go out there and get to work.”

And there you have it! So long as he can physically play, he’ll be out on the field! That’s just what Hall of Famers do!