Travis Kelce Addresses Whether or Not He’ll Return to the NFL After Painful Super Bowl Loss
Travis Kelce is assessing his future after a painful defeat at the Super Bowl.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end opened up about whether or not he’ll return to the NFL next season on the latest episode of New Heights, the podcast he presents alongside his brother Jason Kelce, which dropped on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions,” he said.
He also noted that the “biggest thing” for him and his teammates right now is “being there” for each other and “understanding.”
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“There’s a lot that goes into this thing, you know?” he said of the Super Bowl, which was held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, on Sunday, Feb. 9. “A lot of wear and tear on your body.”
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The NFL player, 35, said the 40-22 defeat had been a “tough pill to swallow.”
“It’s just a tough reality,” he added.
But he assured Chiefs fans he wouldn’t be rushing into any decisions about retirement.
“I’m gonna take some time to figure it out. And, I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back, it’s a wholehearted decision. I’m not half-assing it, and I’m fully here for them.”
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His brother Jason, 37 — who spent his entire 13-year NFL career playing as a center for the Philadelphia Eagles before announcing his retirement in March 2024 — reassured his brother he understood where he was coming from.
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“You’re preaching to the choir, brother. It sucks when you get to this point in the career where it could becomes harder and harder to do it,” the dad of three said.
Travis also noted that his supporters in the crowd at the Super Bowl — including girlfriend Taylor Swift, 35 — made the defeat a “little easier.”
“After the game, I had my best friends and my family and my loved ones and everybody that has supported me throughout my life there to make it not feel like the worst day of my life,” he said, adding that the loss was “gonna suck for quite a while.”
“It’s just life, man. It’s life,” Travis concluded.
