Travis Kelce remains a remarkable discount for the Kansas City Chiefs

Clark Hunt handed over a few more million dollars to Travis Kelce on Monday. He could double that pay raise and his tight end would still be an incredible discount for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The truth is: Kelce has been and remains one of the biggest discounts in the National Football League.

No one is complaining anywhere in this picture about how much they are bringing home, but Kelce remains a discount for the Chiefs.

Look, we realize that no one should be feeling bad for what Travis Kelce brings home these days—even just from his on-field production. He just received a raise on a new two-year contract restructure—not an extension no matter what you heard reported before—worth up to $34.5 million. But given what he costs the Chiefs versus the value he brings, it's laughable that the Chiefs only have to fork over what they do.

And that's true in multiple ways.

Consider the actual player production from Kelce compared to other players. Over the last five NFL seasons, Kelce ranks No. 4 among all players in receiving yards with 6,092 and No. 3 in total receptions (497). Only Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs have put up more production than Kelce in that span with former teammate Tyreek Hill gaining more yards but fewer receptions.

During that five-year span, the Chiefs have paid Kelce approximately $52.5M, good for an average of $10.5M per season. In 2024, that total was supposed to add another $13M before Monday's restructure pushed that number higher—to a new average of just over $17M, which sets a new TE record over Darren Waller's $17M AAV (average annual value).

By comparison, Davante Adams has added 27 more passes (or five more per season) for $83M total, or $16.6M per year. Stefon Diggs has been paid $88.4M since 2019 to catch 11 more passes than Kelce. Tyreek Hill has raked in just under $92M in that same amount of time.

The going rate for the NFL's top wide receivers is now over $30 million per season and names like A.J. Brown and Amon-Ra St. Brown are those being rewarded. Meanwhile, Kelce remains, far and away, the NFL's best tight, and yet he's woefully underpaid for his accomplishments. Even fith millions more in an updated restructure, Kelce is still an incredible discount.

If Kelce is going to average $17.25 million over the next two seasons, he's still coming in several million below the likes of the previous three. Consider most of the aforementioned players are averaging $30M per season these days. It's the loophole for modern offenses to find a primary outlet in a tight end (e.g. Sam LaPorta in Buffalo).

For teams that can figure out how to squeeze more production from a tight end, it's the ideal way to maintain millions more in your pcoket and the Chiefs have the best example of all.