Chiefs TE Travis Kelce opted against retirement this offseason and will instead return for his age-36 season.
Following a mandatory minicamp session, Kelce spoke with the media and said he wasn’t close to retiring.
“I love football. I don’t think I really thought about it that much,” Kelce said, via Michael Boca of NFL.com. “I love coming in to work every single day. It wasn’t a very tough one for me. I know I’m getting older, but at the same time I still feel like I’ve got a lot I can prove in this league. With that being said, it really wasn’t that hard of a decision for me.”
With one year remaining on his deal, Kelce didn’t rule out playing past this season, but can’t envision himself anywhere but Kansas City.
“I got one year on this contract, I know that, and we’ll try and figure out something for next year. The Chiefs organization knows how much I love them. I can’t see myself ever playing anywhere else. We’ll deal with that down the road when the time is right, but right now I’m focused on winning a championship this year.”
Kelce, 35, is a former third-round pick of the Chiefs out of Cincinnati back in 2013. He was entering the final year of his four-year, $3.126 million rookie contract and set to make a base salary of $675,000 for the 2016 season when he signed a six-year, $46.8 million contract extension.
He signed another four-year, $57.25 million extension in 2020. Kelce was due base salaries of $12 million and $16.25 million over the final two seasons of that deal.
In 2024, Kelce appeared in 16 games for the Chiefs and recorded 97 receptions on 133 targets for 823 yards and three touchdowns.
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