Not even Travis Kelce’s mom, Donna Kelce, has the inside scoop into whether he’s ready to retire.
“I just want him to do what he feels comfortable doing,” Donna, 73, told TMZ in an interview published on Friday, February 13. “He’s got to talk to, you know, people that are in his life to decide what he wants to do.”
She continued, “I’m not sure, we’ll see what happens.”
Travis, 36, was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013 and has played for the team throughout his entire NFL career. The Chiefs did not make the playoffs for the first time in 10 years ahead of the 2026 Super Bowl, and the tight end hasn’t clarified whether he plans to return for another season or hang up his cleats.
Donna Kelce Thinks Jason and Travis Will Always Be ‘Involved’ in Football
“I think I’m still searching for those answers,” Travis told Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez in a December 2025 interview. “The way this ended with a sour taste in my mouth, I feel I need to make the right decision for me. I feel like I have a lot of love for this game. If I came back it’d just be to answer that flame that I still love this thing.”
Travis further hinted at all the factors that were going into his potential retirement decision.
“If it was just Sundays, I could play till I was 50. Obviously, there’s so much that goes into it,” he said at the time. “Arrowhead being Arrowhead, the atmosphere [and] playing in front of them, those will be memories that I cherish [when] I’m old and gray. … It’s special, man, and I love playing for them.”
Weeks later, Travis was still mulling his decision.
Travis Kelce Addresses Rumors He’s Planning to Retire From His NFL Career
“First things first, I love this team,” he said in a January press conference. “I’m proud of the way we finished it even though it ended the way it did. Guys still showed up, gave it their all, and that’s all you can ask for. Either it hits me quick or I’m gonna need a little time. We’ll see.”
While Travis has teased he wants to think things over with his family, they haven’t gotten the final word just yet.
“I’m curious, too,” Travis’ older brother, Jason Kelce, said on Monday Night Countdown in December 2025. “In my opinion, to nail that decision, you have to step away from the game for a little bit. Play these last three games, enjoy them with your teammates, enjoy them with your coaches. The team’s going to be different no matter whether you come back or not next year.”
Jason, 37, played 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles as a center and retired in March 2024.
Jason Kelce Thinks Travis ‘Already Knows’ His Answer About Retirement
“We have a small family. No cousins, one aunt, one uncle. It was really my brother and I our whole lives,” Jason said in his tearful retirement speech. “We did almost everything together, competed, fought, laughed, cried and learn[ed] from each other. We invented games, imagined ourselves [as] star players of that time.”
He added at the time, “There is no chance I’d be here without the bond Travis and I share. It made me stronger, tougher, smarter and it taught me the values of cooperation, loyalty, patience and understanding. It’s only too poetic I found my career being fulfilled in the City of Brotherly Love. I knew that relationship all too well.”
