When looking at Travis Kelce's stats for the past two seasons, one might simply point to Father Time catching up to him as to why they're "down". After all, Kelce turned 34 during the 2023 season and 35 during the 2024 season and considering the beating that tight ends take, that'd be enough of a reason for his numbers to start declining.
Kelce, in a tell-all interview with GQ, recently opened up about his past two years in the NFL. He said that "acting and being an entertainer" was a distraction for him during that time.
“I think [his production] 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.”
Travis Kelce gets painfully honest about past two seasons with Chiefs
Kelce's stock first really started to rise when the Chiefs and Eagles went head-to-head in Super Bowl LVII. The Kelce brothers squaring off in the Super Bowl became one of the biggest talking points leading into the game and when the Chiefs won, so did Travis' popularity. He hosted Saturday Night Live weeks after winning his second Super Bowl.
When things really exploded for Kelce, however, was early in the 2023 regular season when he began to publicly date Taylor Swift. Suddenly, all of Swift's fans became Kelce fans and his popularity skyrocketed as a result. You couldn't go anywhere in Kansas City without hearing or seeing something about Kelce and Swift. It was a wild time.
While Kelce and the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII against the 49ers in early 2024, people couldn't help but point to the vetean tight end's declining numbers. Sure, his numbers were down but they weren't bad by any stretch. In 2023, Kelce had 93 receptions for 984 yards and five touchdowns in 15 starts. Had he played in just one more game, he'd have tallied 1,000 receiving yards for the eighth straight season.
In 2024, Kelce started all but one game and finished with career-lows of 823 receiving yards and three touchdowns. His 97 receptions that year, however, were tied for the fourth-most in his career so the numbers can be a bit misleading for sure.
In Super Bowl LIX, it wasn't hard to notice how uninterested Kelce looked during the eventual blowout loss. He later said that he had been feeling under the weather leading up to the game but his demeanor during the game definitely led to people wondering if the Chiefs tight end was going to call it a career. He's coming back for another season but it wouldn't surprise anyone if the 2025 season will be Kelce's swan song.
Not only is Kelce getting older (he'll turn 36 in October) but he has opportunities for his post-playing days that he wouldn't have had a few years ago. Why not take advantage of those? He's also won three Super Bowls and there isn't much left for him to accomplish in his career.
Kelce admitting that the entertainment aspect affecting his play isn't surprising but at the same time, no one can really blame him for getting distracted by it. He's gotten to do some really cool things and if he can find what he wants to do in the next step of his career following football, more power to him.