Travis Kelce Return News Emerges Before 14th Chiefs Season

Following his 13th season in the NFL, Kelce saw his two-year, $34.25 million deal expire, making him an unrestricted free agent. However, the tight end is still pondering his football future as he decides whether to return for a 14th season with the Chiefs or hang up his cleats.

With no official decision made just yet as the March 11 start of free agency approaches, ESPN's Nate Taylor is confident Kelce will return to Kansas City in 2026 for a 14th season, noting that a two-year contract could be in the cards for the tight end.

“He’s coming back, guys,” Taylor said. “Every indication I’ve gotten is that Travis Kelce is looking forward to coming back. When we’ll know that for sure, that’s really his prerogative and I don’t think it’s really going to affect, you know, I know some people are like, 'well, if he hasn’t really signed before free agency starts, how does that affect free agency?'

"I’m like, it really doesn’t affect free agency. They can allocate that money however they want. Now, they might give him, and I’ve said this before, maybe a two-year deal where you can, you know, spread some of that money out and give a, you know, pretty nice chunk of signing bonus to get that base salary to be manageable for 2026. And hey, if you got to eat it in 2027, if he retires, you go ahead and eat it. He’s giving you everything you could have asked for already.”

With Kelce coming back and Mahomes eyeing a Week 1 return, the Chiefs could be going all-in on a fifth Super Bowl title in 2026.