Travis Kelce’s NFL future is officially up in the air. After 13 seasons in the league and entering his age-37 season, the future Hall of Famer might call it quits. And could you blame him?
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With three Super Bowls, a Hall of Fame career, a wedding on schedule with popstar Taylor Swift, and an acting career all but confirmed, Kelce could very well hang up his cleats for good. On top of that, the Kansas City Chiefs just had their first losing season in over a decade, Patrick Mahomes is getting his knee repaired, and Kelce overall looks a step slower. Yet, some are claiming that a return may still be on the table.
Claim: Amid his impending retirement decision, multiple websites and social media posts are claiming that Kelce has confirmed whether he’s returning next season. How did they deduce that? They found it interesting the way Kelce reacted to a new coach joining the Cheifs staff.
Source of the Claim: The comment was made on Travis and his brother Jason’s podcast, New Heights. And the coach in question is Eric Bieniemy, whom the Chiefs have hired as their offensive coordinator.
If you didn’t know, the offensive coordinator worked with Kelce and the Chiefs from 2018 through 2022. Many thought he was the catalyst and mastermind behind the offense. Bieniemy joined the Washington Commanders in 2023 and worked with them for two years as assistant head coach. He then spent a single season in Chicago last year. But now that he’s back with the Chiefs, here’s what an excited Kelce had to say:
“I can’t wait to see him back in the building, man. He’s one of my favorite coaches of all-time, one of my favorite people of all time. I’ve had so many unbelievable growing moments under him as a player, as a person, and I just love the guy. And it’s gonna be awesome to see him back in the building and see him back wearing the Chiefs logo, baby,” Kelce said.
Notice the wording here. A player who is soon to retire would never say that they’re excited to see a coach “back in the building,” mainly because they won’t be in the building to see the coach.
It should be noted, though, that Kelce hasn’t explicitly confirmed or denied anything for now. Everything is still speculation as things stand.
Verdict: Technically, false. Kelce hasn’t confirmed anything. However, there’s still much to be determined.
In our opinion, Kelce should retire. It’s not exactly the last ride off into the sunset that he envisioned. But at the same time, that’s not the reality of the NFL. Many all-time greats retired after realizing they were never going to reach the great heights they once achieved. Even Tom Brady’s last career game was a loss to the Dallas Cowboys of all teams.
The reality of the NFL is that it’s super hard to win a Super Bowl. A player shouldn’t delay their inevitable retirement just to wait and see if they can win another one. At the end of the day, it hurts their legacy and affects people’s overall general outlook on a legend.
