Chiefs star Travis Kelce has made headlines all season because of his relationship with Taylor Swift, but what about his play on the field?
Even in a down year, Kelce still would have had his eighth straight season with more than 1,000 receiving yards if he played in Kansas City’s season finale against the Chargers. With the Chiefs’ playoff seeding locked up, Kelce elected to rest for the postseason instead, finishing his 2023 campaign with 93 receptions, 984 yards, and five touchdowns.
Kelce has put himself in the conversation for the greatest tight end in NFL history. Along with two Super Bowls, he ranks fourth all-time in receptions (907) and receiving yards (11,328) and sits fifth in receiving touchdowns (74) for a TE.
The four-time All-Pro has already reached the peak of the mountaintop at his position. He’s 34 and a guaranteed Hall of Famer without much left to prove in his illustrious NFL career.
MORE: Sporting News’ NFL experts make their playoff, Super Bowl 58 picks
Could the Chiefs’ 2024 NFL playoff run be the last we see of Kelce on the gridiron? According to the man himself, that idea isn’t as inconceivable as you might think.
Is Travis Kelce going to retire in 2024?
Kelce looked invincible over the previous seven NFL seasons leading into his 2023 campaign. He posted seven consecutive seasons with 1,000 receiving yards and recorded double-digit touchdowns in four of those. He was either first- or second-team All-Pro in each of those years and had missed just three games total since his rookie season, none of which were due to injury.
Two of those three absences were because the Chiefs had already guaranteed a playoff berth, while the other came in 2021 when he had COVID-19.
In 2023, he missed his first game since his rookie year in 2013 due to injury, sitting out the Chiefs’ opener with a hyperextended knee. He also sat out the final game of the season to rest up with Kansas City already in the playoffs.
MORE: Dolphins vs. Chiefs odds, props, predictions for AFC wild card game
At 34, Kelce’s 177 total games (regular season and playoffs) are starting to take a toll on his body. He admitted in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in November that the injuries have him thinking about retirement “more than anyone could ever imagine.”
“That’s the only thing I’ve never really been open about, the discomfort. The pain,” Kelce told WSJ’s J.R. Moehringer. “The lingering injuries. The 10 surgeries I’ve had that I still feel every single surgery to this day.”
Kelce hadn’t talked much about the prospect of retirement in the past, but the topic came to the forefront again ahead of the Chiefs’ playoff game against the Dolphins.
“Do you guys not think about retirement?” he joked to the room of reporters. “Am I the only one in this boat?
“… I have no reason to stop playing football, man. I love it. We still have success. Come in with the right mindset. I just love the challenge that it gives me every single day, to try and be at my best.
“I have no desire to stop any time soon,” Kelce concluded.
Kelce is under contract with Kansas City through the 2025 season. That, along with his most recent statement, would make it a massive surprise to see No. 87 hang up his cleats after the current campaign — unless the Chiefs can take home another Super Bowl and he chooses to ride off into the sunset on top.
Travis Kelce contract details
In 2020, the Chiefs signed Kelce to a four-year, $57.25 million contract extension to keep him in Kansas City through the ’25 season.
Kelce still has two seasons and more than $28 million remaining on his deal before he potentially hits unrestricted free agency as a 37-year-old.
| Year | Age | Salary |
| 2023 | 34 | $11.25 million |
| 2024 | 35 | $12 million |
| 2025 | 36 | $16.25 million |
| 2026 | 37 | UFA |