Kansas City Chiefs superstar Travis Kelce went out of his way to suggest his NFL retirement could be imminent with a statement on his podcast ‘New Heights’ on Wednesday.
When discussing one of his record-breaking stats with older brother and retired NFL legend Jason Kelce, Travis marveled at another Chiefs tight end.
Kelce became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 12,000 receiving yards, doing so only in 172 games, besting the previous mark set by Tony Gonzalez in 210 games.
The still-active Kelce, who turned 35 in October, is no doubt in one of the later chapters of his football career. Now it appears Kansas City’s quest to become the first team in the Super Bowl era to win three consecutive titles could be his swan-song season.
‘Goddamn, [Gonzalez] played 210 games? What the f***?’ Travis said to Jason.
‘Well, he played more than that… it took him 210 games to get to 12,000,’ Jason replied.
‘I don’t know if I can… that’s almost 40 more games. I don’t know if I can play 40 more!’ Travis retorted.
‘Listen, that’s a lot more games. He got 15,000 [yards]!’ Jason added.
‘How did he do it? Goddamn!’ Travis concluded.
After Kansas City’s victory over the Chargers on Sunday, Kelce has played in exactly 100 less regular-season games than Gonzalez did, who finished his legendary career with 272 NFL appearances.
Travis stating he may not play in 40 more NFL games gives him two more full seasons at maximum, as the Chiefs would need to play in at least 20 games to reach a Super Bowl, as they have the last two years.
Much speculation has taken place over the last year about the longevity of Kelce’s career, with the impetus being his relationship with Taylor Swift.
In dating Swift, the mainstream attention in all-things Kelce has skyrocketed. ‘New Heights’ signed a deal believed to be worth $100million with podcast network Wondery.
Jason, who retired from the NFL in March, has since become a football analyst with ESPN, with similar opportunities believed to be out there for Travis.
Travis is also currently the host of Prime Video’s ‘Are You Smarter Than A Celebrity?’ with panelists such as Nikki Glaser poking fun at the Chief with Swift-related jokes on a few episodes.
Kelce no doubt has at least five NFL games left in his career, which represents the rest of Kansas City’s regular season and a playoff contest.
