Travis Kelce Gushes Over Kansas City Chiefs After New Deal

Travis Kelce loves everything about playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. He loves his teammates. He loves the coaching staff. He loves the organization. He loves the fans.

So you can imagine his excitement when he signed a two-year contract extension with the Chiefs earlier this week, and in the most recent episode of the New Heights podcast, Kelce expressed his gratitude.

“I’m so freaking thankful to (general manager) Brett Veach, (president) Mark Donovan, coach (Andy) Reid — Big Red, I love you, big guy — and obviously (owner) Clark Hunt,” Kelce said. “The Hunt family has been unbelievable to not only myself and this Kansas City community, but they’ve just been so generous since I’ve been here in making it feel like home. For the past [11] years I’ve been able to make this place exactly that, and I’ve loved every single second of it.”

Retirement speculation had been swirling around Kelce, and Kelce himself even seemed to hint at his career winding down last season.

However, Kelce now appears more ready than ever to return to the field and takes pride in setting a standard for the other tight ends around the NFL.

“I’m gonna love the next two years playing here in Kansas City, and we’ll see what happens after that, but I am so excited and so thankful to this organization for getting it done and making me feel appreciated and compensated the right way,” added Kelce. “On top of that, I’ve got to move the needle for the tight end room. It’s everyone else’s job to go out there and keep making that tight end AAV number go up and up with every single contract that’s better than mine in the future.”

Kelce is coming off of a 2023 campaign in which he caught 93 passes for 984 yards and five touchdowns en route to his ninth straight Pro Bowl appearance. He also set the all-time postseason record for receptions by adding 32 more to his resume during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl run this past winter.

The 34-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Cincinnati, was selected by Kansas City in the third round of the NFL Draft.

He was a Pro Bowler by his third season, which began a streak that still remains active today. During that span, he posted seven straight 1,000-yard campaigns between 2016 and 2022, with his best season coming in 2020 when he set the single-season mark for receiving yards by a tight end with 1,416.

Kelce has also added four First-Team All-Pro selections, and, most importantly, he has helped lead the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles.

Travis Kelce and Co. are hoping to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls next season.