There’s no doubt that Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will go down as one of the greatest tight ends in league history. Many fans expected the 2025 season to be Kelce’s last before retirement.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go the way Kelce and the Chiefs had hoped, and Kansas City failed to reach the playoffs. Now, Kelce is taking his time, deciding whether to call it a career or go for one more Lombardi Trophy before he hangs up his cleats.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt has made it clear that he’d like his star tight end back.
“As an organization, we certainly hope that he will come back,” Hunt said. “He had another great year. Maybe not on par with where he was four or five years ago, but still had over 800 yards, was really one of the leaders on the offensive side of the ball for us. So there’s no doubt in my mind that he can still play.”
Unfortunately for Kelce, should he decide to return, it’s unlikely he’ll receive the sort of compensation he’s become accustomed to over his illustrious career. Not only has his production waned over the last couple of seasons, but Michael David Smithof Pro Football Talk has reported that Kansas City is projected to be in the worst cap shape in the league for 2026 at about bout $55 million over the cap.
Fans reacted to the circumstances on social media.
“Past his prime. Not worth what he’ll ask for. Time to move on, is now,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“Chiefs gonna run it back with same team and no salary cap space. Good luck w that,” someone else added.
“It’s over, the SB window is very small now,” another fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see how the situation plays out.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.