Travis Kelce
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Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce signs a surprising new deal with Kansas City.
Travis Kelce put pen to paper to officially return to the Kansas City Chiefs this season. While signing his new deal, Kelce took a congratulatory FaceTime call from Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“What’s up, one-five,” Kelce said. “Patricio! Let’s go baby! Home sweet home, you know what I’m sayin?”
“Look at the beard, too,” Mahomes added. “That man’s ready to go. Alright, bro. I just wanted to call and say congrats. I know you got stuff to do.”
“You already know, dawg,” Kelce responded. “Hope the rehab is going good, baby.”
While fans loved seeing Mahomes and Kelce’s conversation, the details of Kelce’s new deal immediately turned some heads.
Previous reports noted Kelce was signing a one-year, $12 million deal with up to $3 million in incentives. However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport posted on March 23, “It’s a 3-year, $54.735M deal that can be worth up to $57.735M ($18.245M average) done by agent Mike Simon… Year 1 is $12M plus 3M in incentives.”
Fans were initially stunned to learn the 36-year-old had inked a three-year deal. However, after digging into the fine print, it’s still really a one-year deal.
Travis Kelce Will Not Receive the $40 Million in the Final 2 Years of His Contract
Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs.
GettyKansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce’ new contract turned heads.
The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov posted, “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.
“For context and clarity, Travis Kelce’s contract with the #Chiefs includes a trigger date next June that exists strictly for cap purposes. He does not actually have another two years and $40M+ coming to him after this season.”
Kelce got even more disappointing news about his Chiefs’ income, as he’s unlikely to earn his 2026 incentives either. AtoZ Sports Charles Goldman reported, “I’d wager [his $3 million in contract incentives] will be considered NLTBE (Not Likely To Be Earned) by the NFL based on the Chiefs’ results of the 2025 season.”
The Chiefs Utilized the ‘50% Rule’ to Structure Travis Kelce’s Contract
Kansas City finished the 2025 season with a 6-11 record and missed the playoff berth for the first time in a decade. Those disappointing results are a huge reason why Kelce wanted to return for another season. The 11-time Pro Bowler, who’s set to marry pop star Taylor Swift this season, reportedly fielded eight-figure-a-year broadcasting offers. And he turned them down to keep playing.
Overall, the Chiefs don’t like to use void years on contracts, so they got creative to lower Kelce’s cap. According to Over the Cap, Kelce’s salary cap hit in 2026 is $4,896,667. In 2027 and 2028, his cap hit is $3,551,667.
Goldman called Kelce’s deal a “unicorn contract” as the Chief utilized the rarely-used 50% rule to “effectively set up two void years in the non-traditional sense.” The 50% rule is a “provision that says a player’s salary and bonuses in a given year cannot be less than the remaining prorated portion of the signing bonus for that year.
“The Chiefs could either cut Kelce as a post-June 1 cut or place him on the reserve/retired list before the June 8 trigger date. That would effectively void the remaining $40 million and set Kelce up for dead-money hits of over $3.5 million in 2027 and 2028.”