Perry Knotts/Getty Images
The Kansas City Chiefs announced Monday they signed tight end Travis Kelce to a new contract.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport first reported on the deal and colleague Tom Pelissero followed up to add Kelce will make $34.3 million over the two-year term.
He becomes the NFL’s highest-paid tight end, a title that belonged to the New York Giants’ Darren Waller ($17 million).
Teammate Patrick Mahomes reacted to the news on social media:
Kelce hasn’t openly flirted with retirement, but a number of factors pointed to how he could walk away sooner rather than later.
The wear and tear is beginning to show a bit with the nine-time Pro Bowler. His 65.6 receiving yards per game were his fewest since 2015 and he set a career low in yards per reception (10.6). He also missed Kansas City’s opener thanks to a knee injury and was rested in the season finale while dealing with a neck issue.
The 34-year-old gave a candid interview to J.R. Moehringer of WSJ. Magazine in November and admitted he ponders retirement “more than anyone could ever imagine.”
“The discomfort. The pain. The lingering injuries—the 10 surgeries I’ve had that I still feel every single surgery to this day,” he said when laying out the physical toll.
Beyond having achieved everything he can on the field, Kelce has become a major star off it thanks to the popularity of his New Heights podcast with brother Jason and his relationship with Taylor Swift. He knows he’s set up nicely for a second career when he’s done in the NFL.
The future Hall of Famer was never going to retire after the Chiefs successfully defended their Super Bowl championship. He wasted no time in saying he’d be back for a three-peat bid.
Before agreeing to an extension, an exit in 2025 at least looked like a plausible possibility. Instead, Kelce is making it abundantly clear he wants to stick around well beyond that.
That’s great news for the Chiefs, who continued to lean on their tight end as their No. 1 option in the passing game. His 93 receptions and 984 yards were both the highest on the team.
By adding wide receivers Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy in the offseason, Kansas City might be able to give him a bit of a break in 2024.
