Travis Kelce Reveals Who Will Help Him Make Decision if He Opts to Retire from the NFL
- - Travis Kelce Reveals Who Will Help Him Make Decision if He Opts to Retire from the NFL
Skyler CarusoDecember 26, 2025 at 9:26 PM
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Jamie Squire/Getty
Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 25, 2025. -
Travis Kelce is opening up about his NFL future amid retirement rumors
In an interview with retired Chiefs star Tony Gonzalez, the tight end revealed who is helping him make the decision whether to retire
He also admitted what would make him return to the NFL, should he decide to play another season
Travis Kelce is confiding in someone who has been in his shoes before.
The Kansas City Chiefs star, 36, opened up at length to retired football star Tony Gonzalez about his future in the NFL amid rumors of his retirement at the end of this season after a 13-year career in the league.
In a Prime Video interview that aired before the Chiefs-Broncos game on Thursday, Dec. 25, Kelce talked about whether it was time to step away from the game.
"You know, that's a good question, man. I think I'm still searching for those answers... The way this one ended with a sour taste in my mouth," Kelce said. "I feel motivated, but I got to make the right decision for me."
Jamie Squire/Getty
Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs.
He continued, "And I got to hope that if I do want to come back, the Chiefs are willing to bring me back. So it's a two-way street on that. But at the same time, man, at this point in this year, I'm just trying to finish out and give Chiefs Kingdom everything that I've got and go out there and do it with some of that flair that you said I play with."
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Tony Gonzalez #88 of the Kansas City Chiefs during game against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 8, 2002.
Gonzalez, 49, then asked Kelce who's helping him make the decision.
"Well obviously I've got one guy in my back pocket that called it quits when he was 36 years old, being my brother," he told the retired NFL star of his brother Jason Kelce, who retired from the Philadelphia Eagles after a 13-year career with the team in March 2024.
"And I got another guy in my pocket that called it quits when he was 37 years old, being you," he told Gonzalez. "And so I'm sitting here asking myself, you know, what was it for you that helped you find that answer?"
Gonzalez responded that he "had finished everything I had wanted to accomplish as a player individually."
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Gonzalez told Kelce, who announced his engagement to fiancée Taylor Swift in August, that he thought the Chiefs star was going to retire had he won the Super Bowl last year against the Eagles.
Jamie Squire/Getty
Travis Kelce engages with fans after the Chiefs-Broncos game at Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 25, 2025.
"That's where I look at you... there's nothing else left," Gonzalez said to Kelce. "I mean, you are one of the greatest tight ends of all time, if not the greatest. You have won Super Bowl rings. You have been All-Pro. You have done stuff off the field. You have stuff waiting for you after the season's over."
Ezra Shaw/Getty
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift embrace on the field after the Chiefs won the 2024 Super Bowl.
Gonzalez also asked Kelce what he'd be coming back for, if he were to play another season.
"Just the fact that I know when it's over, it's over," Kelce said. "And I feel like I don't know, like I still have a lot of love for this game. I feel like if I came back it would be to answer that flame in my heart that I still love this thing."
The Chiefs star credited Gonzalez for paving the way, post-retirement.
"I'm very fortunate that you guys have opened those avenues and made it a success so guys like me could maybe find that answer after football," Kelce said, regarding Gonzalez' accomplishments off the field, "But yeah, I gotta find out if that's the next chapter, or if I'm still young and hungry and ready to play some football."
Jamie Squire/Getty
Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 25, 2025.
The Chiefs star is in his 13th season in the NFL. He was selected by Kansas City in the 2013 NFL Draft.
This season has been quite a contrast for the Chiefs compared to their near Super Bowl three-peat last year. This season marks the first time in a decade the team has missed the playoffs.
To add injury to insult, star quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a season-ending injury on Dec. 14 during the Chiefs-Chargers game. He tore his ACL, underwent successful surgery the next day and is currently rehabbing to recovery.
The Chiefs play their final game of the season against the Las Vegas Raiders on Jan. 4.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
