Travis Kelce Reveals why He Couldn’t Walk Away from the Chiefs Just Yet

When the final whistle blew in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans nearly a month ago, the odds were 50/50 that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had played his last game.

Some in the Chief organization expressed they believed Kelce would retire following KC’s 40-22 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles, while fans still held out hope the 35-year-old Pro Bowler would come back for his 13th NFL season.

Kelce put all of the rumors to rest last week when he confirmed to ESPN’s Pat McAfee that he was indeed coming back in 2025, and he opened up on how he arrived at that decision on the most recent episode of his “New Heights” podcast.

“The biggest thing is that I [expletive] love playing the game of football,” Kelce said. “I love playing, I still feel like I can play at a high level, and possibly at a higher level than I did last year — I don’t think it was my best outing.”

“I think I let my guys down in a lot more moments than I helped them, especially if you look at my track record and what it’s been in year’s past.”

“I want to give it a good run. I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth on how I ended the year and how well I was playing and how accountable I was to the people around me. … I don’t want to leave that life yet.”

Travis Kelce on playing year 13 and how he came to that decision pic.twitter.com/XNB4ctanvD

— | fan acct. (@TayvisHaze) March 5, 2025

Kelce told reporters in the lead-up to the Super Bowl that he expected to still be playing football with the Chiefs three years from now, but added that only if he was still able to play at a high level.

Though this season was a step back from the All-Pro-caliber seasons Chiefs fans had come to expect from Kelce, he still ranked third in targets (133) and receptions (97), fifth in yards (823), and seventh in yards after the catch (342) among all tight ends.

And while there were certainly plenty of reasons for Kelce to walk away right now — his budding acting career, settling down and starting a family with girlfriend Taylor Swift, the high salary he would likely command if he were to follow in his brother Jason’s footsteps and transition into an NFL analyst.

Kelce just couldn’t walk away from the players, coaches and staff that he’s spent the last 12 years of his life with.

“I’m not a big measure the pros and cons, I just go off of feel; just a pure gut feeling,” Kelce added. “I [expletive] love this game, and I love going into the building with the guys that are there.”