Everything Travis Kelce has said about retiring - 'I think about it constantly'

Publish date: 2024-08-23

Travis Kelce’s brother Jason announced he was retiring from American Football in a teary-eyed press conference earlier this year, and all eyes have been on his younger sibling ever since.

The tight end will be heading into year 12 of his successful football career when the next season comes around. The Kansas City Chiefs are enjoying their golden era, and Travis Kelce and the rest of the team are running on success, stats and a dash of positive vibes. After Jason Kelce announced he was retiring from the field, a lot of fans turned their eyes to younger brother Travis – wondering if he was up next to organize a press meeting. This is what the 34-year-old has said about the idea of hanging up the number 87 so far.

Travis Kelce on retiring – ‘I love what I’m doing’

After a decade into his career, Trav, who is dating Taylor Swift, was asked about hanging his cleats up, and he seemed to be optimistic over the future.

He told the Bleacher Report in April 2023: “I absolutely love what I’m doing, I love doing it here in Kansas City.

“I don’t even want to think about putting a time limit on this. My body still feels good, I still feel like I can help the Kansas City Chiefs win. On top of that, every single day is a blast coming into the building.

“I’m definitely having fun and haven’t put much thought into it.”

The 34-year-old then had a spot hosting on Saturday Night Live, and his podcast with brother Jason, New Heights, became a hit without signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Questions were ramped up, with some reporters and fans questioning if he was getting a taste of what he could become off the field.

In June, a couple of months later, he just had six words to say when someone asked how long he’d play football.

“‘Till the wheels fall off, baby”.

Kelce smiled, and added: “I love this game, man. I know I’m going to miss it when I’m done playing, but I hear you on [calling it quits to pursue a secondary career], that’s a business decision I’m sure I’ll have to make at some point in my life but for right now, I’m in this building wanting to win football games.”

‘He thinks about it constantly’

Fears this season could be his last weren’t helped when he signed up for representation for off-field opportunities.

In the fall, he was interviewed for WSJ Magazine, where he spoke about his career and love life – and how he met girlfriend Taylor Swift. Swifties had realized the celebrity couple were an item when she supported him at the Arrowhead Stadium in September.

Weeks later, Travis Kelce said retiring was constantly on his mind, and he thinks about it “more than anyone could ever imagine”.

Some of this could be down to the beating he takes on the field, with the celebrity having 10 surgeries so far in his career.

“That’s the only thing I’ve never really been open about, the discomfort. The pain,” Kelce said. “The lingering injuries – the 10 surgeries I’ve had that I still feel every single surgery to this day.”

Tom Melvin, coach, also thinks his mental capacity is helping him push through the pain.

He told the outlet: “He has phenomenal pain tolerance. He’s played through things that other athletes I’ve coached through the years have not been able to push through. Mentally tough — way off the charts.”

Kelce, who was drafted by the Chiefs with a third-round pick in 2013, is dedicated. During his rookie year, he did miss 15 games over a knee injury, but hasn’t let it stop him since. Only missing a handful in the 10 seasons since.

Kelce doesn’t think his age is a factor

When asked how he trains keeping himself in top shape for the game, despite Kelce’s age, Travis showed no signs of his birth year being an indicator of retiring.

He previously said last year: “I just love the game.

“I think that kind of keeps me living [like] a young, fun-loving football player, you know? I get to play a game for a living at the age of 33, 34, and I don’t want to lose that.”

He continued: “I don’t want to lose that excitement that I had for the game when I was a kid, and every single day I get to come in with the best team, the best players, the best coaches in the world — so, it makes it easier if you just come in here and enjoy it.”

According to RBC Wealth Management, the majority of NFL players, on average, say they’ll be retiring at 27.6 years old, so for Travis Kelce, he’s already beyond that.

He also has time left on his contract, signing a four-year deal in 2020 for $57.25 million through the 2025 season. So perhaps he won’t be walking out for good until then.

2024 – All eyes on Travis

As the New Year came, everyone was wondering if Travis Kelce would be retiring, especially as his brother Jason had said he thought about it the previous season – months before he did.

But when January rolled around, the All-Pro tight end said – when he was asked yet again: “I have no reason to stop playing football.

“I love it. We still have success, come in with the right mindset. I just love the challenge that it gives me every single day to try to be my best. Like I said, I have no desire to stop anytime soon.”

He then joked: “You guys think about retirement? Am I the only one in that boat?

“I have no reason to stop playing football. I love it.”

When the Super Bowl LVIII arrived in Las Vegas, he assured reporters it wouldn’t be his final game, either.

“I love coming into the building and playing this game more than anybody and I know I’m going to miss it when it’s over with,” Kelce said. “I can’t put a timestamp on it, but I know I’m going to enjoy every single bit of this one.

But there was one thing that would make him retire

The week after the Super Bowl when Jason and Trav released a new episode for the podcast, he did respond to the backlash over him shouting at Andy Coach Reid on the field.

He said it was ‘definitely unacceptable’ and Jason, married to wife Kylie Kelce, said his brother ‘crossed a line’.

The photo went viral, with a lot of fans upset over the exchange.

Reid himself dismissed it, and didn’t seem bothered.

But Trav said: “I can’t get that fired up to the point where I’m bumping Coach, and it’s getting him off-balance and stuff. When he stumbled, I was like, ‘Oh s**t,’ in my head.

“Yeah, I’m a passionate guy. I love Coach Reid. Coach Reid knows how much I love to play for him, how much I love to be a product of his coaching career.

“I’m not playing for anybody else but Big Red. If he calls it quits this year, I’m out of there with him, man. I’ve got a certain relationship with him.”

Let’s hope Big Red isn’t retiring anytime soon, or Travis Kelce will be joining him!

Travis Kelce’s potential plans after retiring

While the tight end doesn’t want to say goodbye to the Chiefs or Coach Andy Reid just yet, he’s hinting at a few potential jobs he could walk into when he does.

In June 2023, he said he’d love to ‘talk football’ and help people relate to it, even those who are only just getting into the sport.

Perhaps a football commentator on the screen then?

He said: “I could sit there, talk football, and make it relatable (in a future job).

“I could get into the scheme of things. I could make it make sense to the people who are just now getting into it. And I could bring the juice.”

Then, the star – who holds the record for most receptions for an NFL tight end with 814 catches in their first 10 seasons – said his SNL hosting gig was eye-opening.

Trav explained: “That’s the point of the off season, being able to get out there and really find what you love to do.

“I’ve been fortunate to do a few things outside of the sports world that I’ve been enjoying doing, like getting on camera.

“The ‘SNL’ stuff kind of opened up a new happiness and maybe a new career path for me. It’s funny for me to even say that at this point in my career. It’s so much further down the road than it is right now.”

Travis would ‘love’ to be in a Wes Anderson film

In February, Trav also teased he’d love to join the movie business. When Jason pointed out one of his pre-game outfits looked like it was out of a Wes Anderson film, he was over the moon with the comparison.

Jason said: “The beanie, everything, it kind of looked like from The Life Aquatic, probably what gave me that idea.”

Travis loved the idea: “Dude, that would be pretty electric.”

“It wasn’t aimed as a knock, Wes Anderson is a beast,” Jason chimed in.

“That’s what I’m saying, if I am in a Wes Anderson film, if this was my pitch, I’m just going to go ahead and say it to get on a Wes Anderson film,” Travis pleaded to the camera, smirking.

“I could fight right in Wes, you just give me the lines baby.”

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