We all know the facts by now: the contract of future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce has expired, and he is entering free agency. Furthermore, he will turn 37 before the season begins. Without any firm information either way about whether Kelce will decide to retire, the Chiefs won't be able to enter free agency with a clear picture of what their offense will look like.
Talks of retirement have swirled for a couple of years now, but Kelce has maintained that he will play "until the wheels fall off, baby." Detractors might point out Kelce's decline in production over the last couple of seasons, but it's a long way down when you're on top of a mountain. Kelce has been one of the league's most productive pass catchers for a decade while also being an absolute iron man.
However, the decision to play may be impacted by the fact that he is in a supremely unique situation. Almost any other player would be weighing his options with the additional factor of getting one last payday. But Kelce has achieved the status of an international celebrity, and he will be able to pursue whatever career path he pleases when he finally decides to hang it up. On top of that, he is engaged to a billionaire. Needless to say, money will not be a factor in his decision. It will rest solely on his desire to play.
The Chiefs have never faced a free-agency case like Travis Kelce's entering the 2026 season (nor has any other team).
That's where the discussion treads into uncharted territory. If Kelce chooses to return, it's for one reason alone: to win. If he wants to win, he will also want to give his team the best possible chance to succeed, and that includes the salary cap. It would make no sense for the team or the player to negotiate a contract upward of $10 million. Kelce himself would probably rather commit that money to helping the team load up for a return to the Super Bowl. (Spotrac has his market value at $10.7M for a single season.)
And that leads to the question: how low would he want to go? Theoretically, Kelce could sign for as little as $1.3 million (the league minimum for a veteran with 7+ years of experience), but that seems borderline utopian. A contract somewhere in the range of $8–9 million feels more realistic.
Kelce has tasted the rarefied air of three Super Bowl victories, and there's no doubting that he hates the way the 2025 season ended. The team is certainly mapping out its plan for when free agency begins in just a few weeks, and it will want to know beforehand whether to pencil Kelce into those plans or not. There is no precedent for what might transpire.