The original details of Travis Kelce’s new contract with the Kansas City Chiefs created confused initial reactions from football fans as NFL reporters disagreed on the terms of Kelce’s deal.
Now, we have a full picture of Kelce’s reworked contract — a new two-year deal that replaces his previous contract and keeps him in KC through 2025, not a two-year extension — and it’s clear that the deal seems to make sense for all parties involved. Albert Breer of SI wrote about how Kelce’s deal came together in Kansas City, and his initial scene-setting paints a clear picture of how the Chiefs viewed the new agreement.
“There are two ways to look at Travis Kelce’s new contract in Kansas City,” Breer wrote. “One would be that it is, indeed, a lot to pay for a tight end entering his 12th NFL season and turning 35 in October. The other would be that Kelce is one of the three bedrocks of the Chiefs dynasty, there’s value throughout your organization in rewarding that, and what a great tight end makes falls well short of what receivers, left tackles, defensive ends and corners make anyway.”
Breer later goes on to note that while Kelce’s $17.25 million per year average is the most for a tight end in NFL history, it’s essentially what wide receiver Jerry Jeudy will average with the Cleveland Browns and less than Christian Kirk’s average Jacksonville Jaguars salary. Here’s how Breer reports the details of Kelce’s new deal:
“It’s a two-year, $34.25 million deal. It’s not an extension. Kelce had two years and $30.25 million left on his existing deal, without any guarantees. His pay for 2024, as part of the reworked contract, ticked up from $13 million to $17 million, and the Chiefs guaranteed all that money for him at signing,” Breer writes.
“The second year remains at $17.25 million, and it’s not guaranteed yet. However, the Chiefs broke that money up, and put $11.5 million in a roster bonus that’ll be due on the third day of the 2025 league year. Which means, by mid-March, most of Kelce’s money for ’25 will be locked in, creating an early decision point for the team to keep him aboard (not that it was looming as a big question).”
