Travis Kelce will bring home a massive payday if he decides to return for another season.
The Chiefs tight end, 35, was noncommittal about his playing future after his team’s Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, saying on his subsequent New Heights podcast that he would ‘take some time to figure it out.’
But if he is still on Kansas City’s roster by March 15, he will receive a $12.5million roster bonus, according to Spotrac.
That figure would come in addition to the $4.5million in base salary he is set to receive in 2025.
If Kelce retired – or was cut by the team – it would save the Chiefs $17million in cap space.
And if Kelce does choose to hang his cleats up, he is expected to inform the Chiefs of that decision before the bonus kicks in.
Travis Kelce will take home a huge bonus if he decides to play another year for the Chiefs
Kelce was relatively quiet in Super Bowl LIX, as he caught four passes for just 39 yards
The Athletic previously reported that the Chiefs want to know whether Kelce is playing or retiring around March 14 – the day before the sum would be awarded to the player.
That date is also about five weeks before the NFL Draft – where the Chiefs could look to replace Kelce if he decides he’s done playing.
Kelce was fifth among tight ends in 2024 with 823 receiving yards, though that total was his lowest since his sophomore season in 2014.
The tight end also hauled in just three touchdowns this season and was quiet in Super Bowl LIX, catching four passes for 39 yards in his team’s 40-22 loss.
However, the latest indications are that he will continue playing, as revealed by The Athletic’s Dianna Russini earlier this week.
Speaking on the Rich Eisen Show, Russini said that, from conversations she’s had, there’s ‘definitely a sense’ that Kelce will continue playing.
Russini added that the Chiefs ‘feel pretty good that Travis has got a little bit more left in him.’
Ahead of the Super Bowl, Kelce said he hoped to still be playing in three years, but struck a different tone when he spoke on New Heights after the Chiefs’ 40-22 Super Bowl loss.
‘I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,’ Kelce said. And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-a**ing it, and I’m fully here for them.
‘I think I can play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.’
