Going into Super Bowl 59, few topics related to the Kansas City Chiefs were as discussed as the playing future of tight end Travis Kelce.
To kick off Super Bowl week, Kelce spoke to the media and sounded like he was going to be playing for a few years, yet.
"Where will I be in three years? Oh, man. Hopefully still playing football. I love doing this," Kelce said. "I love coming in to work every day. I still feel like I’ve still got a lot of good football left in me, but we’ll see."
But, Sunday morning just hours before kickoff, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the potential of this Super Bowl being the last game Kelce would ever play. "It is, in fact, possible that Super Bowl LIX on Sunday is the final game of Kelce's 12-year professional career," Rapoport noted.
Of course, this very well could be the literal reporting of something being "possible" just for the sake of a big media hit. But, the report stretched beyond Rapoport, with some inside the Chiefs organization believing the Super Bowl could be Kelce's last game.
So, the rumor continued to grow.
Is Travis Kelce going to retire after Super Bowl 59?
As the final seconds wound off the clock Sunday night during Super Bowl 59 and the Chiefs had to deal with what ended up being a complete blowout, people had to know the answer to this burning question.
The only problem was, they weren't going to get it.
As players exited the field, the Chiefs surprisingly did not designate Kelce as one of the players needing to spend time with the media.
Had the Chiefs won, maybe this would have been different. But, Kansas City ended up playing it safe by allowing Kelce to have his privacy and not have to answer even more questions, at the podium, about his retirement.
For what it's worth, Kelce did answer a few questions when he was still in the locker room. But, we didn't get much by way of his future with the team.
Kelce's career is already going down as arguably the greatest by any tight end in NFL history, even before Sunday night's Super Bowl took place. It sure helped that Kelce broke Jerry Rice's record for receptions in the Super Bowl, which previously stood at 33.
He ranks third all-time in receiving yards, third in receptions and fifth in touchdown receptions among tight ends in league history. His seven straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards is the longest streak by a tight end in history, as well.
Throw in 10 straight Pro Bowls from 2015-2024, four First Team All-Pro selections, and the Super Bowl titles. We might just be looking at the greatest to ever do it at the tight end position.
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