Travis Kelce reveals how close he came to retiring

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was the subject of retirement rumors throughout the beginning of the offseason, but does not appear to have actually considered the possibility that strongly.

Kelce admitted Wednesday that his retirement decision was not a particularly tough one, and he did not give the possibility a lot of thought despite reports suggesting he was seriously considering calling it a career.

“I love football. I don’t think I really thought about it that much,” Kelce said, via Michael Baca of NFL.com. “… I love coming in to work every single day. It wasn’t a very tough one for me. I know I’m getting older, but at the same time I still feel like I’ve got a lot I can prove in this league. With that being said, it really wasn’t that hard of a decision for me.”

Kelce fueled a lot of the rumors himself with his quotes after the Chiefs’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. He kept the suspense going for a while longer after that before ultimately confirming he would return for another season.

One of the things Kelce had said was that he had to make sure he could fully commit to the team before making a decision on whether to come back or not. Recent reports suggest he has very much made that commitment with the hopes of having a better 2025 season.

The future Hall of Famer saw his numbers decline in 2024, catching a relatively modest 97 catches for 823 yards and three touchdowns.