Travis Kelce is officially under contract with the Kansas City Chiefs to play in the National Football League in 2026 – something everyone thought would happen, but still had to pass through the formal channels.
What everyone didn’t expect, though, was the length of the deal. On Monday afternoon NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport revealed the Chiefs signed Kelce to a three-year, $54.735 million deal that could reach up to up to $57.735 million with extra incentives.
Fans immediately flocked to social media to wonder why Kelce signed a three-year deal after contemplating retirement this offseason.
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“3 years?? At that AAV?! Yikes. I don’t see a world where he wants to play 3 more years and on top of that, he’s not playing at $18 mil a year money level,” one person questioned.
Another suggested Patrick Mahomes was behind the deal by saying, “Three years?! Wonder what guaranteed looks like. Pat not letting him retire until he's 40.”
“I’ll need to see the nitty-gritty details here because WHAT,” said another.
NFL analyst Ari Meirov helped explain the nature of the new deal.
“The #Chiefs' new contract with TE Travis Kelce is structured as a 1-year, $12M deal with another $3M in incentives, with additional years included for cap purposes,” he said.
“If Kelce wants to continue playing after this season, the deal will be renegotiated next year. As currently structured, it's set up for this to be his final season, after which he would retire - allowing the cap hits to be spread out over those added years.”
As it stands now, Kelce will be back with the Chiefs in 2026 and the two sides will likely renegotiate a different deal if he decides to keep playing beyond the upcoming campaign.
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