Travis Kelce's Tearful Reaction to Jason Kelce's Retirement Resurfaces Amid Questions on Future

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Feb 12, 2025 11:54 AM ET

It was a little less than a year ago that center Jason Kelce, a stalwart fixture on the offensive line for the Eagles over 13 seasons, announced his retirement in a teary press conference in Philadelphia.

Kelce missed out on the 2025 Super Bowl, in which the Eagles defeated the Chiefs in a 40-22 blowout victory in New Orleans. But after the game, it was another Kelce--star tight end Travis Kelce, Jason's younger brother--who is being faced with a decision on retirement.

Travis Kelce has established himself as one of the great tight ends of all time, but he did have a down season at age 35, at least by his standards. Kelce had 97 catches for 823 yards and a career-low three touchdowns.

Heading into Super Bowl LIX, Kelce sounded certain he would be back for a 13th season next year. But on Wednesday, speaking with Jason Kelce on the brothers' "New Heights" podcast, Travis sounded less than certain.

'I'm not making any crazy decisions [yet]," he said. "Right now the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding there's a lot that goes into this thing."

But the possibility of Travis Kelce exiting the NFL stage immediately brought to mind Jason Kelce's departure, which was a major tear-jerker.

hearing travis talking on the pod about retiring or not… it just hit me that i’m not ready to see him and taylor crying at the press conference pic.twitter.com/ShcVmk83Vu
— Anália (@analiaogs) February 12, 2025

And no one in the crowd that afternoon was tearier than Travis Kelce, who wore sunglasses during his brother's announcement, but still could not hide his considerable emotion as he sat with the brothers' crying mother, Donna. Video of that emotion came back up after Kelce talked about retirement.

As one user who posted the video noted, "hearing travis talking on the pod about retiring or not… it just hit me that i’m not ready to see him and taylor crying at the press conference."

That, of course, is what's in store for him and his inner circle--and yes, that includes girlfriend Taylor Swift--if Travis Kelce decides to walk away this offseason. The decision is pending, but the tissues should be kept handy nonetheless.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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