Travis Kelce opened up about his decision to return on the latest episode of New Heights.
Travis Kelce came into the offseason as the subject of the single biggest cloud hanging over the Kansas City Chiefs offseason plans. Whether or not the future Hall of Famer would return for the last season of his contract was the primary question on the minds of Chiefs Kingdom, given rumors that he'd perhaps played his last game in Super Bowl LIX.
After some time to consider his options, Kelce recently made it clear that he did not want to go out on such a sour note. As he made it clear he was coming back for the 2025 season with the Chiefs, talk of a "farewell tour" surfaced, which made sense given that this decision was so difficult and that he has a single season left on his contract.
As it turns out, even that might not be the "end" for Kelce in Kansas City on the field.
On the latest episode of his uber-popular podcast, New Heights, Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce talked about his decision to return and the hopes he has for the season ahead.
First, Kelce opened up about his choice to come back after realizing his passion for the sport and team he's played for since being drafted in 2013.
"The biggest thing is that I f—-ing love playing the game of football. I love it. I still feel like I can play at a high level, and possibly at a higher level than I did last year. I don’t think it was my best outing. I let my guys in a lot more moments than I helped them, especially if you look at my track record and how I’ve been in years past."
Kelce went on to add that he had a "bad taste" in his mouth after suffering such an abysmal defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles when trying to chase a three-peat for K.C.
"I wanna give it a good run. I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth on how I ended the year and how well I was playing and how accountable I was for the people around me."
What was also made clear in the interview with Kelce is just how much he's grown to love the actual community of Kansas City—a sentiment that extends far beyond the walls of Arrowhead. His work with 87 & Running and its charitable efforts to aid students in the K.C. region are a perfect example of that work.
"And I love so many people in Kansas City, both in that facility and the community. It’s home for me now. I don’t want to leave that life yet. I’ve put in a lot of hard work and a lot of focus into being the best that I can for K.C. "
As for when he might call it quits, Kelce refused to say whether or not this might be his swan song in the NFL. He's reserving the right to make that call when he has to.
"Last year, it didn’t end well for us. I feel like there’s a responsibility in me to play out the contract that I initially signed to give Kansas City and the Chiefs organization everything I’ve got and that’s what I’m gonna do, man.
"We’re back at it for at least one more year. I can’t say whether or not this is going to be the last year because I still love a lot of what I do for the city of Kansas City and the Chiefs organization. So I know I’ve got one [year] on my contract. I’m gonna give you guys everything I’ve got, baby."