At the opening night media session before Super Bowl LIX, reporters asked tight end Travis Kelce where he saw himself three years from now.
At the time, Kelce left the door wide open.
Before the Super Bowl
“Where will I be in three years? Aw, man. I don’t know, hopefully still playing football,” he said. “I love doing this. I love coming into work every day. I feel like I got a lot of good football left in me, but we’ll see what happens. I know I’ve been setting myself up for other opportunities in my life, and that’s always been the goal knowing that football only lasts for so long. You got to find a way to get into another career, another profession. I’ve been doing that in my offseasons, but for the most part, I plan on being a Kansas City Chief and playing football.”
Kelce has consistently put the team first — and his pre-game answers reflected that. By expressing confidence in the football he still had left, he avoided becoming a distraction ahead of the club’s biggest game of the year.
But on Wednesday, days after the Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Kelce struck a different tone on his “New Heights” podcast with his brother, Jason.
Opening up on “New Heights”
“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road,” said Travis. “I’m kicking every can I can down the road, and 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 that goes into this thing.
“I’ve been fortunate over the past five-six years, I’ve played more football than anybody. It’s because of the people in that building and the fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls. That means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body, and 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. That process can be grueling — it can weigh on you, it can make you better, and it can drive you crazy at the same time.
Kelce’s math is accurate. But thanks to head coach Andy Reid, it’s also included playoff games that predate quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Taking away his lone snap in 2013, Kelce has competed in 11 regular seasons and also 25 playoff games — effectively an extra season and a half of deterioration to his body.
Kelce added that he did not feel like the same player in 2024 that he was in previous seasons.
“Right now, it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year. I think 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, it’s a tough pill to swallow. And then on top of that, to not being there in the biggest moments, knowing your team is counting on you — it’s a tough reality.
“I’m going to take some time to figure it out. I think I owe it to my teammates if I do come back, it’s a wholehearted decision. [and] I’m not half-assing it. — I’m fully here for them. I think I can play; it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on that responsibility.”
My take
Given Kelce’s comments, I think it’s apparent that if Kansas City had won a third straight Super Bowl, he would have certainly called it a career.
It did not — and now, a player who has loved the team and competition so much throughout the course of his career is left with an inner debate of whether he wants to go out like that.
The problem is complex because “not going out like that” demands another six-week training camp in St. Joseph, 18 weeks of practices and games, plus (in a perfect world for Chiefs fans) three to four playoff matchups.
As Kelce notes, he wants to make sure his heart is in it — because it needs to be if you’re going to take on another grueling seven months.
I truly think he doesn’t know.
Regardless of his decision, it has been a hell of a career to this point; Canton surely awaits.
