Kelce Doesn’t Commit to Playing Next NFL Season

Posted on: February 12, 2025, 04:36h. 

Last updated on: February 12, 2025, 06:41h.

Mark Keast Read More
Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.
  • 10-time Pro Bowl tight end goes on podcast and won’t say if he will retire or not
  • Kansas City Chiefs were blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s Super Bowl

Maybe it’s because Sunday’s 40-22 blow-out loss that his Kansas City Chiefs suffered at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s Super Bowl is still fresh, but Travis Kelce isn’t saying whether he will return to play another season.

Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce says he needs time to consider whether to play again, just days after the Chiefs were blown out by the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. (Image: USA Today Sports)

Chiefs’ Blow-Out Loss Sunday

The Pro Bowl tight end, who is 35, was speaking today on his New Heights podcast that he hosts with his brother Jason.

I’m going to take some time to figure it out. 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-assing it, and I’m fully here for them,” he said, via Ian Rapoport’s X feed.

“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.”

Boos for Swift

The Chiefs’ efforts for a third straight Super Bowl came up woefully short. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had his worst performance in a big game, throwing two interceptions, one that went for a TD. Kelce caught only four passes for 39 yards.

Kelce finished the season with 97 catches for 823 yards and three touchdowns, with 13 catches for 175 yards and a touchdown in three playoff games. According to BetMGM, a bettor put down $25,000 on Kelce +1500 to win Super Bowl MVP.

“The process could be gruelling. It can weigh on you. It can make you better and 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. I think that it happens as you tail off towards the back nine of your career,” he told the podcast.

It’s as you see yourself or not feel yourself have the success that you once used to have. Man, 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. Those are all extremely hard things. It’s just a tough reality. And, you know, I think I’m going to take some time to figure it out.”

Kelce Popular with Bettors

Meanwhile Kelce’s girlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift, who has attended many of Kelce’s games live and has been credited with helping to grow the NFL’s audience into other, more non-traditional areas, especially with more women coming to the game, was booed loudly during Sunday’s game at the New Orleans Caesars Superdome. Novelty betting around Swift and Kelce in Ontario has been popular.

That’s something that Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, a guest on “The Howard Stern Show” on SiriusXM today, doesn’t understand.

She was there supporting her significant other, and she’s made the game bigger,” Barkley told Stern. “In football we’re all about, ‘How can we expand the game and make it more [international]?’ We’re traveling to Brazil, we’re traveling to Mexico. Apparently, we’re traveling to Australia soon. We’re trying to expand the game, and her being a part of it is only helping it. I don’t get the dislike she’s getting.”