Chiefs' Travis Kelce opens up about being 'underpaid'

All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce seems to understand he's a bargain for the Kansas City Chiefs. 

"My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am," Kelce told Tom Kludt of Vanity Fair. "Any time I talk about wanting more money, they’re just like, 'Why don’t you go to the Chiefs and ask them?'"

Kelce is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, a four-time First-Team All-Pro, a two-time Super Bowl champion and an eventual first-ballot Hall of Famer who, per Matt Miller of ESPN, may go down as the greatest tight end to ever play the position. According to ESPN stats, the 33-year-old led all Kansas City players this past regular season with 110 receptions, 152 targets and 1,338 receiving yards. He was also second in the league with 12 touchdown catches. 

Roughly 11 months before Kelce earned his second career Super Bowl ring in February, the Chiefs traded star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. Hill subsequently landed a four-year, $120M extension that reportedly included $72.2M in guaranteed money from his new employer. 

"When I saw Tyreek go and get 30 [million] a year, in the back of my head, I was like, man, that’s two to three times what I’m making right now," Kelce explained. "I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in." 

Per Spotrac, Kelce's base salary of $11.25M for the 2023 season is ranked 51st among all NFL players and third among tight ends. Spotrac projects that Kelce has earned slightly under $64.8M from just his NFL contracts since he entered the league as a third-round draft pick in 2013. 

"You see how much more money you could be making and, yeah, it hits you in the gut a little bit," Kelce continued. "It makes you think you’re being taken advantage of. I don’t know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth. But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day."

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes should receive a pay raise before the start of the 2023 season, but Kelce turns 34 in October and is already locked down through the 2025 campaign. While one easily could argue Kelce should be paid like a top-tier receiver, he sounds ready to chase at least a third championship ring with the Chiefs while on his current deal.