Why money probably won't impact if Chiefs' Travis Kelce retires this offseason

Ahead of the Super Bowl LIX matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler said one reason he'd "bet" that Travis Kelce won't retire this offseason is that the Chiefs tight end stands to collect $17.25M for the 2025 campaign per the terms of the contract he signed last spring.

For a piece published Wednesday, media insider Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated explained why the money attached to Kelce's deal may not have much of an impact on what the 35-year-old decides to do coming off this past Sunday's Super Bowl defeat.

"If the future Hall of Famer isn’t motivated to play and calls it quits, he will be the subject of one of the most intense bidding wars that we’ve ever seen in sports television," Traina shared. "...Given Travis' popularity and [relationship with entertainment superstar Taylor Swift], it wouldn’t be hard to see him get close to $10M per year for his services."

Kelce already has accumulated generational wealth from just his football contracts, and that doesn't include money he's earned from his numerous off-the-field business endeavors such as acting gigs, endorsement deals and serving as the host of Amazon’s "Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?" show. Additionally, he and his brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce, signed a deal last year that reportedly was worth more than $100M for their "New Heights" podcast. 

During Super Bowl week, The Athletic's Andrew Marchand speculated that Travis Kelce could be "the next $100M NFL TV analyst" if he embraces a career change this offseason. Specifically, Ben Axelrod of Awful Announcing noted that the "Fox NFL Sunday" studio show could soon undergo multiple noteworthy changes. 

"Whichever network hires him won’t do it solely for his work on a studio show," Traina added about Travis Kelce. "The network will be going into the 'Travis Kelce Business' and all that comes with it, including his relationship with Taylor Swift, enormously successful podcast and top-notch Q rating."

While Kelce said during the latest "New Heights" episode he is "kicking every can I can down the road" regarding his plans for 2025, Erich Richter of the New York Post mentioned that Kelce "has an $11.5M roster bonus that is due to be paid out on March 14." Thus, Kelce should probably decide before then whether or not he's committed to pursuing a fourth career Super Bowl ring.