Travis Kelce revealed where his thinking is at with his NFL future after the Chiefs were destroyed in Super Bowl 2025 by the Eagles.
Kelce, 35, discussed the “wear and tear” his body has endured throughout his glittering 12-year NFL career and acknowledged that retirement is a possibility on the “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason.
“I know everybody wants to know whether I am playing next year and right now I am just kicking everything down the road. I am kicking every can I can down the road,” Kelce, a three-time Super Bowl champ, said. “I am not making any crazy decisions but 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. I’ve been fortunate over the past five, six years, I’ve played more football than anybody…
“The fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body.
“It’s a lot of time in the building … That process can be grueling. It can weigh on you. It can make you better and it can drive you crazy. Right now, it was one of those things where it was driving me crazy this year. It happens as you tail off towards the back nine of your career.”
The NFL star — who set a new record for the most catches in Super Bowl history Sunday — detailed the “tough reality” he’s been faced with.
Kelce was a non-factor in the 40-22 defeat to Philadelphia, pulling in four catches for 39 yards with all of that production coming in the second half with the Eagles far ahead.
The future Hall of Famer had career-lows of 823 yards and three touchdowns this season.
“As you see yourself or feel yourself not having this success that you once used to have, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said. “To not be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team is counting on you, those are all extremely hard things — it’s just a tough reality.”
Kelce, who has been with the Chiefs since 2013, refused to say if he’s hanging up his cleats for good.
“I’m going to take some time to figure it out,” he said. “I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back it’s going to be something that — it’s a wholehearted decision.
“I’m not half-ᴀssing it. I’m fully here for them and I think I can play. It’s just whether or not I’m motivated or if it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.”
Jason retired last March after 13 seasons in the NFL with the Eagles.
“Preaching to the choir,” he said.
Elsewhere in the episode, Travis touched on his team’s disappointing performance in New Orleans on Sunday that saw their dreams of a three-peat crushed.
“Just wasn’t our day,” Kelce said. “Couldn’t find a lick of momentum. I’m kicking myself for some of the tiny, tiny decisions I made on the field.
“I wasn’t the best that I could be in motivating my guys and keeping my guys calm, cool and collected and I put a lot of that on myself, you know, as the guy that’s been in the building for 12 years and seen a lot of football and seen a situation just like this, in the Super Bowl.”
