NFL star Travis Kelce is set to return for another season with the Kansas City Chiefs, after speculation that the 36-year-old was ready to step away from football for good.
Travis announced the news on The Pat McAfee Show on March 10, revealing that his fiancée, Taylor Swift, played a major role in his return to the field, despite his initial reservations.
“Let’s go! Making another run at it, baby, and the Chiefs are making moves, Pat,” he told the show’s host on Tuesday, before adding that Taylor inspired his return. “We share the same love for what we do, and we’ve had this…desire,” he continued. “I’m still in love with this game.”
Travis said it was “amazing to see” the Grammy winner “keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies…and on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.”
“Yeah, of course that’s motivating,” he added. “That’s motivating for anyone to see, let alone my fiancée, and knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out what exactly the future holds for me, something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what, I’m not done either.'”
The tight end shared that he has “still got some ideas in the back of my mind” and “juice to play this game”. Travis also explained the thought process behind returning for a 14th season with the Chiefs, the team he has spent his entire professional career with.
© Getty Images“[Making the decision] was pretty short and brief, and the Chiefs knew where I was the entire time on it,” he said.
Learn more about Taylor and Travis’ engagement below…
“I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out and just playing the game, you know, and I think my best opportunity was playing for the Chiefs yet again and running this thing back with Pat Mahomes and Coach Reid.”
“And got my guy Eric Bieniemy, Coach Bieniemy back, and there’s a lot of pieces in Kansas City that I just absolutely love, and I can’t wait to get back in the building with.” The athlete will reportedly receive $12 million for playing the 2026 season.
© Getty ImagesDuring his time with the Chiefs, Travis has won three Super Bowls, including in 2020, 2023 and 2024. The team suffered a shock loss in December 2025 against the Los Angeles Chargers, which eliminated them from Super Bowl contention and ended their season earlier than anticipated.
© InstagramDespite this loss, 2025 was also a year filled with happy moments for Travis, who proposed to Taylor after two years of dating in August. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the pair captioned a joint post announcing the news. The post featured several photos from their special moment, and a close-up of Taylor’s new brilliant-cut old mine diamond ring.
“He’s just my favorite person I’ve ever met, no offence to everyone else I’ve ever met,” the “Cruel Summer” singer shared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “The fact that this is the person I get to hang out with every day forever, that’s the whole thing of it, that’s the win, and this represents that.”
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