Travis Kelce has established himself as one of the best tight ends of all time, but he’s not done playing just yet. Many believed retirement was on the horizon for the 35-year-old following the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 40-22 Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but Kelce recently revealed on his “New Heights” podcast it was actually that loss that motivated him to keep playing.
“It was probably the biggest factor,” Kelce said of his decision to return, via NFL.com. “I mean, it’s a pretty cool way to go out, but I just think I would still have this love for the game. … I think I would have thought about it more if we would’ve won.”
Kelce caught just four passes for 39 yards in the Super Bowl blowout. The 2024 season overall was statistically Kelce’s worst since his rookie campaign back in 2013, as he caught 97 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. Still, Kelce believes that he can play at a high level — and is motivated to do so.
“I think the biggest thing is that I f—–g love playing the game of football,” Kelce said. “I love playing. I still feel like I can play it 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 how I’ve been in years past. I want to give it a good run. I got a bad taste in my mouth in how I ended last year and how well I was playing and how accountable I was to the people around me.
“I love so many people in Kansas City, both in that facility, in the community, and it’s home for me now. I don’t want to leave that life yet. I put in a lot of hard work and I put in a lot of focus into being the best that I can for K.C. Last year it didn’t end well for us. I just feel like there’s a responsibility in me to play out the contract that I initially signed, to give Kansas City and the Chiefs organization everything that I’ve got, and that’s what I’m going to do, man.”
Kelce will now have the opportunity to build on his already Canton-ready resume. He has recorded the most receptions (1,004), receiving yards (12,151) and receiving touchdowns (77) in Chiefs franchise history, and his 12,151 receiving yards rank third most by a tight end all time behind Jason Witten and fellow Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez. Kelce’s 69.4 receiving yards per game rank No. 1 among tight ends all time, and he owns the most 1,000-yard seasons (7) and 100-yard receiving games (38) by a tight end.
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Author: Jordan Dajani
March 5, 2025 | 1:05 pm
