As Travis Kelce’s NFL future hangs in the balance, Chiefs fans debate if it is time for him to retire

As Travis Kelce ponders retirement after Sunday’s Super Bowl humiliation, an awkward moment of realization was starting to dawn for some Kansas City Chiefs fans. Could they be better off without him?

Kelce, 35, will go down as one of the best tight ends to ever play the game, whenever he decides to call it a day. And having spent his whole career in Kansas City, his place is  already cemented as an all-time great in the mind of Chiefs kingdom.

But as reality bites after the 40-22 loss to Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans, Chiefs fans have started to wonder how they can reload and go one better next season. And it is there that some unwanted spotlight is falling on Kelce, due to the salary he is on.

Kelce has a $19.8million salary-cap hit, according to Spotrac, but if Kelce retires or was cut by the Chiefs, they would save $17m that they could redistribute towards their rebuild. And whether Kelce stays or not, they do have to rebuild – 18 of his teammates are now entering free agency.

Kelce is also owed an $11.5million roster bonus on March 14 and the Chiefs, at present, are projected to have less than $16million in salary-cap space for 2025. That ranks them 22nd in the NFL. Somewhere, something has to give.

If Kelce decides that Super Bowl annihilation is not how he wants to bring the curtain down, perhaps the franchise will ask him to renegotiate his deal and spread his payment out. It could give the Chiefs some precious wriggle room to recruit better players.

Kelce is not playing for money. He has said before that the ultimate reward for him comes in wins, not cash. He is well placed to rake in plenty of dollars off the field, thanks to his profile from his relationship with Taylor Swift. As well as forays into the acting world, last year Kelce agreed a $100million deal for his New Heights podcast with older brother Jason.

The popular Chiefs account on X, Chiefs Hive, tentatively addressed the elephant in the room on Monday night, posting: ‘19.8M cap hit is a lot… Just saying…’

Some Chiefs fans were critical of the hate heading Kelce’s way after such a bad game from a loyal player. But across a string of replies to fans, Chiefs Hive said: ‘Not hating on the guy at all. Never said I am hoping he retires.

‘I am just saying his cap hit is a lot. If he decided to leave, we wouldn’t be left in a terrible situation. It’s not hating on Kelce. Yeah a restructure would be nice. At least lower the cap hit a few million. Could even extend him and spread it out.’

Another Chiefs fan wrote: ‘Travis Kelce is arguably the best TE to play the position, and his dominance has been instrumental in our success. But he’s got a $20 million cap hit for 2025 and I can’t imagine him improving on this year’s numbers. Mahomes targeted him 133 times in 2024.’

Lexi Osborne, of the Chiefs podcast Kingdom Queens, said she had a ‘hard disagree’ over Kelce taking a pay cut given the service he has given the team over his career. ‘He’s earned this money,’ she said.

One fan replied: ‘Not this version of Kelce though. He earned this money 3 years ago and should have gotten it then. But right now, what is it 17m-19m cap hit next year? This version of Travis isn’t worth that, he needs to rework the contract if possible.’

Kelce spoke briefly to media after Sunday’s loss but cut the questions before he was asked about his future in the game.

‘Hats off to the Eagles, they got after us, all three phases,’ he said. ‘We haven’t played that bad all year.’ 

His teammate, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, said he would give Kelce space to reach a decision in his own time.

“I’ll let Travis make that decision on his own, man,’ Mahomes said. ‘He’s given so much to this team and to the NFL and been such a joy, not only for me to work with, but for people to watch.

‘He knows he still has a lot of football left in him. You can see it. He always makes plays in the biggest moments. 

‘But, it’s if he wants to put in that grind because it’s a grind to go out there and play 20 games, whatever it is, and get to the Super Bowl. He’s done enough to be a gold-jacket guy and first-ballot Hall of Famer.’

“I know he still has love for the game, and he’ll get to spend some time with his family and make that decision on his own.’

If he does decide to keep playing, Mahomes insisted the Chiefs would be delighted to have him back.

‘He knows he’ll come back here with welcome arms. We love that guy not only for the football player, but the person that he is every single day.’

But it is up to the organization to make sure the numbers add up. And for the likes of Brett Veach, the general manager for the Chiefs, it might not be as simple a decision. 

Kelce was electrifying last season in a year that ended with Super Bowl glory in Las Vegas, beating the San Francisco 49ers in the showpiece game. 

That season, he was only 16 yards short of his eighth straight 1,000-yard campaign – despite missing the first and last game of the regular season. In the postseason, he added 32 catches for 355 yards and four touchdowns.

This time, it has been a different story. 

He managed four catches for just 39 yards in the Super Bowl and in the regular season his 823 receiving yards and three touchdown catches were both career lows.

When Kelce signed a new two-year contract last April, Veach said: ‘Every now and then you have one of these guys that are outliers and certainly Travis is one of those players.

‘The odds of someone playing this far into the thirties are very low, but it does happen, and it happens with just unicorns in the profession. Travis is one of those and we’ll certainly celebrate this with him and hopefully we can ride this thing even longer.

‘I’ve seen no signs of slowing down and everyone notices the kind of postseason he had, and he just found that extra gear and these special ones, these special players are always able to find that extra gear. If anybody could do it, Travis can.’

The Chiefs, and Kelce himself, must now decide if those words still ring true.