John Dorsey got the finances right for the Chiefs on Travis Kelce’s contract
By Matt Conner
John Dorsey takes hits for his financial decisions, but he got Travis Kelce right for the Chiefs.
When it comes to the player’s side of Travis Kelce’s contract, it’s not exactly a balanced scenario.
That’s true already for tight ends, the best of whom are woefully underpaid in the National Football League (and yes, we understand it’s all relative since we’re talking largely about millionaires here). Tight end contract talk is fairly common these days around the league given that George Kittle is expected to reset the market at the position. The San Francisco 49ers star certainly deserves to set the mark, but it’s those last three words that tell the tale—”at the position”—not only for Kittle but his elite brethren from around the sport.
The latest rumors on Kittle say something around $13 million should be expected, which is fine given the history at the position, but it’s totally disproportional to the production that the Niners receive from the player. If the two little letters designating position next to Kittle were to read, say, WR instead of TE, Kittle would be offered nearly $10 million per season—yes, per season. It’s the sad (again, relative) story of the role.
In 2013, Kansas City Chiefs general manager John Dorsey (whose contract was not renewed in 2017) had the vision to draft a well-rounded athlete out of the University of Cincinnati to help remake the Chiefs offense after a disastrous two-win season. Less than three years later, Dorsey would again have the right vision for Kelce, this time extending the tight end to a lucrative five-year extension before his rookie deal ran out. The contract was worth up to $46 million if all went well.
These days, Kelce has only two seasons left on that deal and is set to count just over $11 million against the Chiefs salary cap ($11.22M to be precise). That is the single highest cap hit of any season within the deal and, in 2021, the final season that Kelce is officially under contract, the cap hit is back down to $8.75M.
Let there be no doubt: Travis Kelce is comfortable financially. However, as the single greatest tight end in the game today, Kelce is woefully underpaid. Let’s put it another way: Travis Kelce is as productive as any pass catcher in the NFL but he is underpaid at a position that is already severely underpaid.
Most of us likely need no reminder of Kelce’s productivity, but just in case, last season he extended his NFL record for most consecutive seasons of 1,000 receiving yards or more for a tight end at four. After missing an entire rookie season to injury, Kelce has never missed another game since and his yearly averages for the last six seasons—five of which earned him Pro Bowl honors—are 84 catches for 1,077 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns. Again, that’s the average season from Kelce for more than a half decade. It’s incredible.
Back to the finances. A fun way to frame all of this is to look north a bit. The Minnesota Vikings employ a wonderfully average veteran named Kyle Rudolph as their primary tight end. Rudolph has eclipsed 500 yards receiving three times in his nine-year career (with a high of 840 back in 2016). He averages $300K less annually than Kelce on his $36M extension.
This year, two primary free agents hit the market at tight end. Both topped Kelce’s annual deal, which is par for the course in free agency. Austin Hooper, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons, got the Cleveland Browns to commit $10.5M per season for the next four years. Hunter Henry got the L.A. Chargers to re-sign him for a bit more than that, albeit for a single season, at $10.7M. Between the two of them, they have zero seasons of 1,000 yards receiving or more (neither even have a single 800-yard season on their resume).
When Dorsey signed Kelce to a tight end deal, the Chiefs tight end was certainly fortunate to earn plenty of money for himself and his family for the next five years. It’s generational wealth, to be sure, and Kelce is also incredibly generous with his money (and time and efforts). But it’s interesting that Dorsey didn’t have to break the bank to keep an elite pass catching asset on the Chiefs roster for the next half-decade.
Finding, developing, and keeping an elite tight end is the perfect way to complement a dynamic offense without putting a team in a frustrating financial situation. Dorsey has taken hits in the past for his record with Chiefs contracts, but he got everything right when it comes to Kelce.