In 2023, 34-year-old Travis Kelce failed to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since 2015. He recorded 984 yards after over 1,300 the year before. There was much made of the tight end’s precipitous downfall to come. However, he proved that he was just saving his gas tank, as his 32 receptions (second-most all-time), 355 yards, and three TDs in the postseason led the league as K.C. won their second straight Super Bowl.
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The next season, in 2024, it seemed the Chiefs were using the same strategy with their aging TE. Kelce had only 823 yards and three TDs, both career lows. But many (including this author) thought the playoff bounce-back was coming. It never did. He finished with just 13 receptions for 175 yards in three games, his lowest totals since 2018.
Kelce acknowledged his subpar performance, which included a paltry four receptions for 39 yards in the Super Bowl. But instead of talking about how he’s simply getting a little old to be an elite NFL TE, he blamed his off-field commitments, which grew exponentially last year after he got together with pop icon Taylor Swift.
“I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up. And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer. … I don’t say this as ‘I shouldn’t have done it.’ I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”
Kelce promised 2025 would be different, adding: “I just have such a motivation to show up this year for my guys.” However, in this day and age, most top players have a lot of off-field commitments, so fans weren’t really buying that his decrease in quality of play was due to something temporary like Hollywood jobs. It’s likely something more permanent.
Some compared Kelce to David Beckham. They suggested that while he was indeed in the spotlight, his body simply started aging. As every human body eventually does (looking at you, LeBron). “Is it Taylor Swift stealing his vital male essence or is it that he’s 35 years old?” joked one Redditor. “Could be part of it, but the dude is also almost 36 and has played a shit ton of football. He doesn’t want to admit it, but his body just isn’t the same as it was 4 to 5 years ago,” said another.
Another suggested that embarrassment in the Super Bowl pushed Kelce’s retirement plans back a year: “This will be his last year. I think if the SB wasn’t such an embarrassment, last year would have been.”
One shrewd Redditor basically codified all the thoughts of the other commenters: “His falloff has been standard for someone his age, the YPC are down, his body looks older, and he doesn’t have the RAC like he used to. Jason Witten pretty much had an identical fall off at the same age, I think Travis is just coping with the realities of getting older.”
When tight ends age, their performance really falls off a cliff. Since the 1970 merger, there have been 16 examples of a TE eclipsing 700 yards at age 33 or older. However, those performances evaporate just three years later. There have only been two seasons where a tight end aged 36+ produced 700+ yards; both were recorded by the great Tony Gonzalez.
Father Time eventually beats us all, and it’s clear Travis Kelce is no exception. Hollywood gigs or not.
