Travis Kelce won’t rush a decision on his future and will “kick every can down the road” until he decides if he still has the motivation to carry on playing football.
Kelce is still processing Sunday’s 40-22 Super Bowl defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles that ended the Kansas City Chiefs’ bid for a three-peat.
The Chiefs tight end claimed four catches for 39 yards – becoming the player with the most receptions in Super Bowl history in the process – but was largely a peripheral figure as quarterback Patrick Mahomes struggled to escape the shackles of the Eagles defense.
Kelce, now 35, has barely missed a game in 11 seasons in the NFL and concedes the wear and tear is starting to take its toll.
Speaking on the New Heights podcast with brother Jason, himself a veteran of the NFL, Kelce said: “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. I’m kicking every can I can down the road.
“I’m not making any crazy decisions. Right now the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding there’s a lot that goes into this thing.”
After a few days to process it, Travis reflected on Super Bowl LIX
Our Super Bowl recap episode premieres at 9:30am ET pic.twitter.com/dxhcSlvWS1
— New Heights (@newheightshow) February 12, 2025
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Physical exertions starting to take a toll
The Chiefs have reached the postseason in each of the last 10 years and Kelce said his body was starting to feel the effects.
He added: “The fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games 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 [but] it can drive you crazy at the same time, and right now it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year. It happens when you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career. When you feel yourself not have the success that you used to have, 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.”
Kelce will only come back if it’s a ‘wholehearted decision’
Kelce stressed that if he did return, it would be because he was fully devoted to his craft and his team.
“I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,” he said. “And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-a**ing it, and 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 all that responsibility.”
Jason shared his candid thoughts on his mixed emotions watching Super Bowl LIX
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— New Heights (@newheightshow) February 12, 2025
Sibling advice available
If Kelce needs someone to talk to, he has the perfect man in Jason, who retired last year after 13 seasons with the Eagles.
The elder Kelce said: “It sucks when you get to this point in your career when it becomes harder and harder to do it. There’s a physicality that becomes more difficult to manage, there’s a mental approach that becomes more difficult to manage, because a lot of the time it’s just stocked on top of the physical discomfort and things that are happening.
“To do it right you have to be committed and you have to put the time in, and you have to be all in. And it’s difficult to sign up for that, because you know what it takes. You’ve been here three years in a row, you’ve been to this game multiple times, you’ve had an amazing amount of success.
“It’s frustrating when you’re getting older in your career and you know that that’s becoming harder and harder to do, and more and more grueling to go through. So take your time, obviously get away from everything for a while.”
Reports in the US suggest Kelce is planning to take a vacation with superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift.
