August 26 was supposed to be known as the cut-down day for the NFL, but Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift ran away with the headlines, thanks to the news of their engagement. Suffice to say, it’s a love story, and the current queen of pop is saying “yes” to the star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Of course, some fans can’t help but feel that the announcement is also a dog whistle for Kelce retiring after the 2025 regular season. During the recent panel discussion on CBS Sports, NFL Senior writer Pete Prisco suggested that, given Kelce’s most recent string of performances, the idea of him calling it quits in 2026 isn’t very far-fetched at all.
“He is in the final year of his deal. He is coming to the end of his career… And he wasn’t that good last year, but he seemed to be refocused this off season,” Prisco said. He also made a sharp evaluation on what changed Travis the football player in 2025, compared to last season. “Travis wasn’t in shape. If you looked at him last year, he almost looked like he was lean at times. It didn’t look like he put the work in in the gym. This year, he looks different this year, so it’s a big year, personally, for him from a football standpoint,” he added.
Prisco did jokingly commend the future Hall of Famer for managing to ‘marry up’ as well, noting that his $17-million salary is “tip jar” money for Swift. The pop star’s net worth is in the billions, at least 12 times larger than that of her fiance. As Chris Hassel put it, “That’s chump change for Taylor. I mean, it’s like Tom Brady with his wife. She was making more too.”
Of course, Kelce and Swift likely won’t have to worry about any arguments involving the pass catcher extending his playing career. The upcoming season will be the 13th of his professional career, and he’s set to turn 36 years old in a little less than two months from now.
Kelce’s performances in the AFC Championship and at Super Bowl LIX left a lot to be desired. His 175 receiving yards from the postseason is his worst since 2018, and during the Super Bowl, he was routinely the last player on the field to come out of his stance. Nevertheless, his appearance in the final week of the preseason was encouraging.
Patrick Mahomes was able to connect with Kelce on two separate occasions for a total of 32 passing yards, proving that the tandem is still capable of picking defenders apart. If that’s an indication of what the Chiefs have in store for the rest of the season, the only concern left is the amount of time that the QB-TE duo have left together.
Until he confirms otherwise, this is shaping up to be the final regular season of Kelce’s career, and then it’s off to Hollywood. Mahomes will have to make the most of that, because after this ride is over, it seems as if they are never, ever, ever, getting back together.
