Travis Kelce Gives Ultimate Timeline About His Potential Retirement

Travis Kelce's 13th year in the NFL ended in disappointment with the Chiefs missing the playoffs by finishing 6-11 in the regular season. Kelce now has to decide whether he wants to continue playing football or retire.

Travis Kelce Gives Ultimate Timeline About His Potential Retirement

Travis Kelce (Image via IMAGO)

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Travis Kelce needs to quickly decide whether he wants to return to the Kansas City Chiefs for one more year or retire. Following the Chiefs’ week 18 defeat against the Raiders in Vegas, reporters asked Kelce about his possible retirement rumors. The All-Pro tight end revealed that he will decide his future after discussing it with people close to him.

Kelce also asked everyone to tune into the ‘New Heights’ podcast for more information. For the uninitiated, it’s a show Kelce hosts every Wednesday with his older brother and retired Philadelphia center Jason Kelce.

Lately, the episodes have featured more celebrity appearances, including former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, Hollywood actor George Clooney, and even Travis’ well-known girlfriend, Taylor Swift. The latest segment focused more on the Chiefs’ underwhelming 2025 NFL season and Kelce’s comments regarding retirement discussions.

If my body can heal up, rest up, and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18-20/21 week run, I think I would do it in a heartbeat.

Travis Kelce said

Basically, Kelce is open to extending his career, but it depends on his body. That should be welcome news for the Chiefs. But nothing is ever set in stone. If he truly wants to stick around, then he should make up his mind quickly. This would help ease the Chiefs’ plan better for the draft. He’s still capable of racking up big numbers even at 36. He finished as the Chiefs’ leading receiver with 76 receptions, 851 receiving yards, and five touchdowns in 17 games in 2025.

Insider speculates whether Travis Kelce will make a career switch

Kelce has not only made a mark as a great athlete on the gridiron, but he has also taken giant steps in the world of showbiz and content creation. In 2025, Spotify named its podcast among the best, putting it alongside The Joe Rogan Experience.

Travis Kelce Gives Ultimate Timeline About His Potential Retirement 2

After witnessing Kelce’s growth in fields outside of football, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic made a case for Kelce’s career in broadcasting.

I think Travis Kelce is one who, if he retires, definitely could do TV. I think he wants to do games, so that’s one to watch.

Andrew Marchand said on a recent segment of the Marchand Sports Media podcast (HT/Awful Announcing)

If so, then the Chiefs may need to find a replacement. The Ringer’s draft specialist, Todd McShay, suggested that the Chiefs should use their 9th overall draft pick to select Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadique, who has put up 46 receptions, 531 yards, and 8 touchdowns in the ongoing college football campaign.

A lot of retirement news, potentially, about Travis Kelce. Regardless, Kenyon Sadiq, tight end, Oregon. This is going to be a retooled Chiefs next year. Mahomes, get him a difference maker.

McShay declared (HT/Athlon Sports)

Despite the fleeting rumors, his teammate, Chris Jones, is clinging to hope that Kelce will be part of the Chiefs’ 2026 roster.

I’m not buying it. He’ll be back next year.

Chris Jones said

It’s never easy to replace a future Hall of Famer like Kelce. It took them nearly five years to find a replacement for Tony Gonzalez by drafting Kelce. However, Andy Reid doesn’t appear to have five more years to wait for another Kelce to come around and partner up with Patrick Mahomes, who, by the way, had surgery on his ACL. It remains uncertain which version of the Mahomes-led Chiefs will emerge once the rehabilitation is complete. Ultimately, the legacies of Reid, Mahomes, and Kelce hang in the balance.

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