Travis Kelce has shared a new update on whether he’s planning to retire after the current NFL season.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 36, admitted to reporters that he hadn’t yet made the final call as to whether this will be his last season, according to multiple outlets on Friday, November 21.
Travis explained he was taking cues from his older brother Jason’s NFL retirement, sharing that he wanted to show respect to the Chiefs by giving the team as much notice as possible if he decides to walk away.
“You know, seeing my brother go through it and seeing…just how the league works, the season kind of restarts in April, and I want to give the Chiefs a good opportunity to know whether I come back or not,” he said. “And vice versa. Like, whether they want me back or not, it’s one of those things where I’d like to make that decision before they’ve got to get draft picks and free agency opens up.”
He added, “I’d like to make that decision before they’ve got to get draft picks and free agency opens to fill the roster appropriately… All that will be at the end of the season. I won’t be thinking about it until then.”
Speculation has been rife that Travis is gearing up to retire, particularly after he got engaged to Taylor Swift earlier this year.
Jason, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles, retired at the end of the 2023 season.
The brothers spoke about Jason’s retirement on their “New Heights” podcast in June 2024, with the elder Kelce brother admitting he knew it was time to pack it up.
“This is when you’re going to start knowing, whenever this time comes, and you need to walk away,” Jason said. “[It’s] the fighting your body, like, you used to be able to do something you can’t do anymore. That’s when it’s like you’re fighting that, to continue to get that back. That’s when it starts to become hard. Bottom line is everyone knows when it’s time for them.”
The same month, Travis insisted he had no immediate plans to retire from football during a press conference.
“I’m going to do it until the wheels fall off,” he said at the time. “I can definitely understand that it’s toward the end of the road [more] than the beginning of it. I just gotta make sure I’m set up for after football as well.”
He added, “I love coming to work every single day. Obviously, I know there’s opportunities outside of football for me. I think you’ve gotta keep in perspective that I’m a little kid when I come in this building.”
More recently, Travis spoke about his potential retirement plans during an appearance on ESPN’S Monday Night Countdown.
“Man, I’ll be fortunate to keep having fun with these guys year in year out, man,” Travis said in October. “I take it day by day, year by year. I just love coming into work with these guys.”
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