Travis Kelce admits he is weighing up the possibility of retirement following the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl drubbing on Sunday night.
On the latest episode of his New Heights podcast, Kelce, 35, told brother Jason in the wake of the Chiefs’ 40-22 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles: ‘I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m kicking every can I can down the road.
‘I’m not making any crazy decisions. Right now the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding there’s a lot that goes into this thing.’
The legendary тιԍнт end went on to cite the ‘wear and tear’ on his body after 12 seasons in the NFL as a reason why he is considering hanging up his cleats.
‘The fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games than everybody else in the entire league,’ he explained.
‘That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body and it’s a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand, every challenge that you set up for yourself. That process can be grueling, it can weigh on you.
Travis Kelce admits he is considering retirement after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl defeat on Sunday
‘It can make you better [but] it can drive you crazy at the same time, and right now it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year. It happens when you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career. When you feel yourself not have the success that you used to have, it’s a tough pill to swallow.
‘And then on top of that to not be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team’s counting on you man… it’s just a tough reality.’
Kelce, who was largely anonymous as the Eagles cruised to a dominant victory in New Orleans, says he now has a big decision on his hands in the coming weeks.
‘I’m gonna take some time to figure it out. And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-a**ing it, and I’m fully here for them,’ he continued.
‘I think I can play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.’
Fans fear Kelce is now set to bring the curtain down on his career, with one writing on X: ‘The wheels are falling off. My heart breaks for trav, all his life he has worked hard to get where he’s at.’
Another said: ‘As a long time fan of football this sounds like retirement is coming so sad’.
