Travis Kelce admits he does not know what the future holds beyond the end of his new, $34million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Earlier this week, the tight end, 34 and the Chiefs reached an agreement on a new, two-year extension though the 2027 season. The deal will make Kelce the highest-paid tight end in football, with his new average annual salary worth $17.125 million – eclipsing that of New York Giants tight end Darren Waller.
Kelce has faced questions about possible retirement from the NFL for some time. He will be 38 come the end of the 2027 season and on this week’s episode of New Heights, Travis told brother Jason that he does not know what his next move will be. ‘I’ve loved every single second of it and I’m going to love the next two years playing here in Kansas City and we’ll see what happens after that,’ Kelce said.
‘I am so frickin thankful to (GM) Brett Veach, (president) Mark Donovan, coach (Andy) Reid and (CEO) Clark Hunt. ‘The Hunt family has been unbelievable to not only myself and this Kansas City community but they’ve been so generous since I’ve been here in making it feel like home and for this past 12 years I’ve been able to make it exactly that… I am so excited and so thankful to this organization for getting it done and making me feel appreciated and compensated in the right way.’
He added: ‘I’m not a guy who holds out. I’m a guy who loves coming into the building and the Chiefs know that. ‘So for them to want to get this done for me, knowing how much blood, sweat and tears I put into this thing for them I’m extremely grateful and extremely thankful for everybody involved. I love Kansas City for it.’
Kelce’s elder brother Jason recently retired from football after 13 years on the Philadelphia Eagles. The 36-year-old was reportedly the highest-paid center in the league and Travis said: ‘This is just following in your footsteps again.’ ‘That’s what they say. I don’t know if it’s true or not,’ Jason replied. Travis spoke of his pride of ‘moving the needle for the tight end room’ and urged his counterparts across the league to keep adding value to the position. ‘It’s everyone else’s job to go out there and keep making that tight end AAV (Average Annual Value) number go up and up with every single contract that is better than mine in the future ,’ he said.
