Travis Kelce Confirms Return for Another Season: ‘I Can’t Go Out Like That!’

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s career isn’t done just yet. Kelce has put retirement rumors to rest, confirming he will return for another season.

“I’m coming back, for sure,” the tight end texted Pat McAfee, who read it live on his ESPN show Thursday. “Gonna try and get to the best shape I’ve been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop. Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can’t go out like that!!!!”

The announcement comes just weeks after Kelce’s bid for a Super Bowl three-peat ended in disappointment.

After back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2023 and 2024, the tight end and the Chiefs were defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles 40-22.

The “tough” loss led Kelce to reflect on his future, teasing retirement on his New Heights podcast.

“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year,” he told his brother, Jason Kelce, his co-host who officially retired from football in March 2024.

“Right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. … I’m not making any crazy decisions, but right now, the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding that there’s a lot goes into this thing.”

At age 35, Kelce acknowledged that the physical toll of the game was becoming harder to ignore.

“It’s a lot of time spent in the building focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand, every challenge that you set up for yourself, and that process can be grueling. It can weigh on you.”

Kelce admitted that the mental and physical demands of going all-in every season can add up.

“I think that it happens as you kind of tail off toward the back nine of your career … as you see yourself or not feel yourself have the success that you once used to have. Man, it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

“And then on top of that, to not be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team’s counting on you, man … it’s just a tough reality.”

Ultimately, Kelce said his focus was on doing what was in the best interest of both himself and the Chiefs.

“I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back then it’s going to be something that is a wholehearted decision; I’m not half-assing it,” he said. “I’m fully here for them. I think I can play — whether or not I’m motivated and it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.”

Selected in the third round of the 2013 draft, Kelce has spent his entire career with the Chiefs.