Kansas City Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce considered retirement after the end of last season before ultimately opting to return to the team. Now, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, he has another decision to make this offseason.
With Kelce in the last year of his contract with the Chiefs, his recent engagement to pop sensation Taylor Swift, and what appears to be a promising media and entertainment career ahead of him, there has been a lot of speculation that Kelce could choose to retire at the end of this season, especially since his on-field production has slowed down in recent years.
While there has been plenty of speculation about his future, Kelce himself has not spoken much about the upcoming retirement decision. This week, however, he broke his silence on the matter as he gave a bit of a timeline about when and how he will make that decision.
Kelce Chose to Return This Season
Last season did not go according to plan for Kelce. Not only did the Chiefs suffer a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl to end the season, but Kelce had the worst season of his entire career statistically.
The veteran tight end posted career-low numbers in essentially every major receiving statistic, with his numbers falling in yards per game, yards per reception, and yards after the catch. He also saw a decrease in his average depth of target and recorded fewer touchdowns than in any other season since he became a starter.
Kelce himself admitted that a lack of focus played a role in the dropoff in production.
"I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up. And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer," Kelce said in an interview with GQ Magazine before the season. "I don't say this as ‘I shouldn't have done it.' I'm just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven't been to my standard."
After the unsatisfactory season, Kelce decided to return for another season with the Chiefs, believing that he was still able to produce on the field.
"I still feel like I can play at a high level and possibly at a higher level than I did last year," Kelce said of his decision to return. "I don't think it was my best outing, you know? I think I let my guys down in a lot more moments than I helped them, especially if you look at my track record and how I've been in years past. You know, I want to give it a good run. I got a bad taste in my mouth about how I ended the year and how well I was playing, and how accountable I was for the people around me."
Another Decision to Make
Kelce is in the final year of his contract with the Chiefs, leading many to predict that this will be the tight end's final season with the team, especially considering Kelce said he felt "a responsibility in me to play out the contract" when he chose to return this season. But Kelce has not yet made a final decision, and it sounds like that decision won't come until after the season.
Though he has been relatively silent on his future plans throughout the season, Kelce recently broke his silence about the upcoming retirement decision as he offered a bit of a timeline for when that decision will come.
Kelce said this week that while he hasn't made his decision yet, he would make his retirement decision before the start of free agency, allowing the Chiefs plenty of time to plan for the upcoming season with or without him.
"Seeing my brother go through it, and seeing how the league works, the season re-starts in April, and I want to give the Chiefs a good opportunity, whether I come back or not, and vice versa - whether they want me back or not," Kelce said this week via Pro Football Talk. "I'd like to make that decision before they've got to get draft picks and free agency opens, or gives them an opportunity to fill the roster appropriately. All that will be at the end of the season. I won't be thinking about it until then."
Given that NFL free agency begins on March 12 – just a few weeks after the Super Bowl – it sounds like fans won't have to wait long to learn Kelce's retirement decision after the season.
This story was originally reported by Men's Journal on Nov 22, 2025, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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