Tight end Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are working to finalize a one-year deal worth up to $15 million, league sources told The Athletic on Monday.
Kelce’s representatives explored the free-agency market with a few select teams, sources said, but the 36-year-old is expected to come to terms with Kansas City for a 14th NFL season on Monday night.
During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN on Tuesday, Kelce said one of the biggest motivating factors for a return to the NFL — and the Chiefs — was that he was “still in love with this game.”
“I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out and just playing the game,” Kelce told McAfee. “I think my best opportunity was playing for the Chiefs yet again and running this thing back with Pat Mahomes and coach (Andy) Reid.”
Kelce told McAfee that he never gave any serious thought to retiring this offseason. He said he needed to take some time away from football to clear his mind, but he also said the Chiefs knew which way he was leaning throughout.
“There’s a lot of pieces in Kansas City that I absolutely love,” Kelce said, “and I can’t wait to get back in the building with them.”
Though Kelce doesn’t possess the same speed as his glory days, he remained plenty productive during the 2025 season — the last year of his previous contract with the Chiefs. Kelce finished fourth among all NFL tight ends with 851 receiving yards, and thanks to some extra offseason work on his conditioning, he displayed a renewed level of burst that wasn’t always present in 2024.
That showed up in some of the advanced stats. Kelce forced nine missed tackles in the regular season, per Pro Football Focus’ data, which was triple the amount he had during the 2024 regular season.
Defenses also continued to show Kelce plenty of respect. That included a Week 17 game when the Denver Broncos double-teamed him on the game-deciding fourth-down pass.
Kelce reached two milestones in the Chiefs’ season finale. He became the quickest tight end to reach 13,000 yards, then also logged 75 receptions for a 10th straight season, tying the NFL record set by receiver Tim Brown.
After that game, Kelce didn’t tip his hand on whether he was leaning toward retirement or coming back.
“I’ve got so much love for this team, this organization and the people here,” Kelce said. “So I’ll spend some time with them, go through exit meetings tomorrow and get close to the family and figure things out.”
At least one close teammate wasn’t convinced Kelce was hanging it up. That was All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, who was asked about Kelce and the potential of it being his last game.
“I’m not buying it,” Jones said. “He’ll be back next year.”
Jones referenced the “tricky” season K.C. had just gone through, which ended with a 6-11 record and a 1-9 mark in one-score games. And though he couldn’t promise anything when it came to someone else’s choice, Jones reiterated he had “faith in my dawg coming back.”
It turned out he had a reason for that conviction.
Kelce coming back provides a security blanket option for Mahomes, whose mobility could be limited for a while as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in December. Though no timetable has been set for Mahomes’ return, he could be back as soon as the team’s season opener.
The Chiefs drafted Kelce in the third round (No. 63) in 2013. After missing nearly his entire rookie season with a bone bruise, Kelce has gone on to start 185 regular-season games with Kansas City over the next 12 years.
Kelce is one of three tight ends to catch 1,000 passes and one of five to break 10,000 receiving yards. During the 2025 season, he also became the franchise leader in touchdowns, surpassing running back Priest Holmes with a TD reception in Week 11 against the Denver Broncos.
At his peak, Kelce strung together some of the most dominant performances at his position, including a tight-end record 1,416 yards in 2020. Kelce also had seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2016 to 2022, with five of those coming with Mahomes as the starting quarterback; no other tight end has more than four such campaigns.
Over the past three years, Kelce became a worldwide celebrity after he began dating pop superstar Taylor Swift. The two connected after Kelce attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it during a July 2023 concert tour stop at Arrowhead Stadium.
Their relationship became public when Swift attended the Chiefs’ home game to watch Kelce on Sept. 24, 2023. Kelce proposed to Swift in August 2025, with a wedding date set for June 13, 2026.
Kelce told McAfee on Tuesday that Swift’s dedication to music — and her continued love and passion for it — was part of what inspired him to continue playing football.
“Something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what? I’m not done either,’” Kelce told McAfee. “‘I’ve still got some ideas in the back of my mind, and still got some juice left to play this game.’”
The spotlight has been brighter on Kelce the past few years. He launched his “New Heights” podcast with Jason in 2022, which quickly became one of the world’s most-listened-to shows. He hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2023, played a supporting role in the FX horror series “Grotesquerie” in 2024 and was featured on the cover of GQ magazine in August 2025.
Mahomes and Kelce formed an impressive connection over the years, as no quarterback/receiver duo has combined for more playoff touchdowns (19). Mahomes also consistently turned to Kelce in crucial moments during the team’s playoff runs.
In the famous “13 Seconds Game,” Mahomes connected with Kelce to set up a 49-yard Harrison Butker field goal that sent the 2021 AFC divisional-round game against the Buffalo Bills to overtime. Kelce later hauled in the winning touchdown pass in that game.
Kelce has been excellent in his five Super Bowl appearances, too, posting the most Super Bowl receptions of all time (35) while ranking second behind Jerry Rice in receiving yards with 389.