Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce has already secured his legacy as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to walk away from his NFL career.
“I know I’m 34 years old, about to be 35, but I have a love to do this right here in the middle of the heat in June,” Kelce said ahead of the Chiefs’ minicamp session in June 2024. “I love coming to work every single day and doing this.”
According to a study by RBC Wealth Management, the average retirement age for an NFL player is 27.6 years old, but Kelce added that he plans to keep playing football “until the wheels fall off.”
Travis’ brother, Jason Kelce, who is two years his senior, set an example of a graceful exit when he retired from the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of the 2023 season. During a June 2024 episode of their “New Heights” podcast, Jason gave his brother some retirement wisdom.
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“This is when you’re going to start knowing, whenever this time comes, and you need to walk away,” Jason said. “[It’s] the fighting your body, like, you used to be able to do something you can’t do anymore. That’s when it’s like you’re fighting that, to continue to get that back. That’s when it starts to become hard. Bottom line is everyone knows when it’s time for them.”
Unlike Jason, Travis doesn’t have a family to factor into his retirement timeline — Jason shares daughters Wyatt, Elliotte and Bennett with wife Kylie Kelce — but he is in a committed relationship with Taylor Swift. Although a source exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2024 that Travis has “no plans” to propose to Swift anytime soon, the pair’s romance is going as strong as their respective careers.
“I love it when Taylor comes and supports me and enjoys the game with the fam and friends,” Travis said during a January 2024 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
Keep scrolling to see everything Kelce has said about his NFL retirement plans, or lack thereof:
April 2023
Travis said he “hadn’t put much thought into” retiring during an interview with Bleacher Report.
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“I absolutely love what I’m doing, I love doing it here in Kansas City,” he said. “I don’t even want to think about putting a time limit on this. My body still feels good, I still feel like I can help the Kansas City Chiefs win. On top of that, every single day is a blast coming into the building.”
June 2023
At the Chiefs minicamp, Travis reiterated his desire to keep playing football.
“I love this game,” he continued. “I know I’m going to miss it when I’m done playing. … I get to play a game for a living at the age of 33, 34 and I think that’s something – you know, I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose that excitement that I had for a game when I was a kid.”
November 2023
The athlete admitted that injuries prompted him to think about retirement “more than anyone could ever imagine” during an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
“That’s the only thing I’ve never really been open about,” he said. “The discomfort. The pain. The lingering injuries — the 10 surgeries I’ve had that I still feel every single surgery to this day.”
January 2024
“I have no reason to stop playing football,” Travis told reporters at a press conference. He noted that opportunities like his March 2023 Saturday Night Live hosting gig had given him a glimpse of his future prospects, but he still wasn’t ready to walk away from his first love.
“I’ve been fortunate to do a few things outside of the sports world that I’ve been enjoying doing, like getting on camera,” he explained. “The SNL stuff kind of opened up a new happiness and a new career path for me, but it’s funny for me to even say that at this point in my career because I think it’s so much further down the road than it is right now.”
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June 2024
During a press conference, Travis said that he wasn’t planning on retiring “anytime soon” and said he “really can’t put a timeframe” on his NFL exit.
“I’m going to do it until the wheels fall off,” he said. “I can definitely understand that it’s toward the end of the road [more] than the beginning of it. I just gotta make sure I’m set up for after football as well.”
Travis added that he still gets a lot of joy from his NFL career.
“I love coming to work every single day,” he said. “Obviously, I know there’s opportunities outside of football for me. I think you’ve gotta keep in perspective that I’m a little kid when I come in this building.”
January 2025
During an appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show, Travis denied that he’s ready to retire at girlfriend Swift’s insistence.
“She’s fully encouraging me to enjoy playing this game,” Travis said. “She loves coming to Arrowhead [Stadium] and coming to the games and cheering for me, so I got all the support in the world to keep chasing these dreams.”
February 2025
During Super Bowl LIX Opening Night on February 3, Kelce was asked where he expects to be in 3 years.
“Hopefully still playing football,” Kelce told reporters. “I love doing this. I love coming into work every day. I feel like I still got a lot of good football left in me.”
He added, “We’ll see what happens. I know I’ve been setting myself up for other opportunities in my life. That’s always been the goal, knowing that football only lasts for so long.”
February 2025
Following the Chiefs’ 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, a somber Kelce said, “We haven’t played that bad all season.”
Kelce didn’t address his playing future during his brief comments to reporters.
When Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked if he thought Kelce would return for another season, he said, “I’ll let Travis make that decision on his own.”
Mahomes added, “He’s given so much to this team and to the NFL, and been such a joy not only for me to work with but [for] people to watch.”
