Kelce’s last dance? Why Chiefs star could retire from NFL

Travis Kelce already knows how difficult retiring from the NFL is.

He and his older brother Jason watched him go through this nearly two years ago.

As 36-year-old Jason announced he was ending his 13-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles, Travis was sat in the front row of his retirement news conference, wiping away tears.

As his 13th year draws to an end, Travis, 36, is facing a similar set of circumstances.

His contract with the Kansas City Chiefs expires at the end of the season after winning three Super Bowls for the previous six seasons.

The Chiefs’ kingdom is finally crumbling after failing to reach the play-offs for the first time in 11 years.

He took the time to “take on all of that responsibility” and return for his final year of employment to assess whether “whether it’s the best decision for me” or “whether I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me.”

Kelce announced his commitments a month after making his fifth Super Bowl appearance.

With only three games left in the regular season, the Chiefs have since appeared to be back to where they were.

As Kansas City prepares to rebuild, Kelce’s future is one of the questions mark, and his brother Jason was contacted by ESPN to ask him for any advice.

The Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl champion said, “You have to step away from the game for a little bit.” “Play these three games, enjoy them, and then let it sink in.” With time, it will arrive for you.

However, the first of those games against Tennessee on Sunday was not very enjoyable. The Chiefs ended the game with third-string quarterback Chris Oladokun after Patrick Mahomes picked up a season-ending injury the week prior.

Evidently, Kelce did not want it to end either.

The quarterback, 30, will not play in what might be Kelce’s final games because of his on-field ties to Mahomes, who was crucial in the Chiefs’ formation of an NFL dynasty.

The Chiefs host a Denver Broncos team on Christmas Day in an effort to earn the AFC’s top seed in the playoffs. The Raiders will then travel to Las Vegas to face a team with the worst NFL record coming out of the year.

Kelce’s dazzling 2023 season, which he began dating pop star Swift, came to an end at Allegiant Stadium, though. Swifties followed the singer’s race against time to travel from Tokyo to Vegas to watch her new boyfriend win a third Super Bowl thanks to their relationship.

Kelce said, “That’s not me,” when he inquired earlier this year about whether he might make a “farewell tour” before the season’s end.

Kelce has already made preparations for a career after playing football.

He and Jason launched a podcast called New Heights in 2022, and he and Jason co-starred in his own reality TV dating series in 2016.

They appeared on Saturday Night Live comedy show at the conclusion of that season and became the first brothers to compete in a Super Bowl.

Travis has also held executive producer positions as well as host of game shows.

Kelce claimed that his football “might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little more concentration in trying to set myself up” in a GQ cover story this summer.

It’s unlikely that Travis will continue to follow Jason’s well-known path from the field to the commentary booth, despite the fact that he is now a TV analyst.

Kelce claimed in that GQ interview that the 2023 and 2024 seasons “haven’t been to my standard.”

His production did, statistically, decline over the course of those years.

Kelce is still the team’s top receiver despite a slight increase this season, but he has only made one reception in each of his previous three games.

Even if Mahomes, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, can play starting next season, Kelce is aware that Kansas City are in transition and that there is no guarantee that they will make an immediate return to the play-offs.

If Kelce decides to stay with the Chiefs for another year, he might not be able to put their new-look roster on the right foot.

Before the Titans’ loss, he never revealed anything and said to reporters, “I’d rather keep the team’s attention this moment.”

But Kelce had the impression of a man saying goodbye as he mixed with Tennessee fans.