Tight end Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are working to finalize a one-year deal worth up to $15 million, league sources told The Athletic on Monday.
Kelce’s representatives explored the free-agency market with a few select teams, sources said, but the 36-year-old is expected to come to terms with Kansas City for a 14th NFL season on Monday night.
The three-time Super Bowl champion and 11-time Pro Bowler hinted at this move previously. During a recording of his “New Heights” podcast on Jan. 7, Kelce said he still had the desire to play.
“If my body can heal up and rest up, and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18-, 20-, 21-week run, I think I would do it in a heartbeat,” Kelce said in a conversation with his brother, Jason. “I think right now it’s just finding that answer and seeing how the body feels after (the Week 18) game.”
Though Kelce doesn’t have the same speed or hip-swivel he possessed in his glory days, he remained plenty productive during the 2025 season — the last year of his previous contract with the Chiefs. Kelce finished fourth among all NFL tight ends with 851 receiving yards, and thanks to some extra offseason work on his conditioning, he displayed a renewed level of burst that wasn’t always present in 2024.
That showed up in some of the advanced stats. Kelce forced nine missed tackles in the regular season, per Pro Football Focus’ data, which was triple the amount he had during the 2024 regular season.
Defenses also continued to show Kelce plenty of respect. That included a Week 17 game when the Denver Broncos double-teamed him on the game-deciding fourth-down pass.
Kelce reached two milestones in the Chiefs’ season finale. He became the quickest tight end to reach 13,000 yards, then also logged 75 receptions for a 10th straight season, tying the NFL record set by receiver Tim Brown.
After that game, Kelce didn’t tip his hand on whether he was leaning toward retirement or coming back.
“I’ve got so much love for this team, this organization and the people here,” Kelce said. “So I’ll spend some time with them, go through exit meetings tomorrow and get close to the family and figure things out.”
At least one close teammate wasn’t convinced Kelce was hanging it up. That was All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones, who was asked about Kelce and the potential of it being his last game.
“I’m not buying it,” Jones said. “He’ll be back next year.”
Jones referenced the “tricky” season K.C. had just gone through, which ended with a 6-11 record and a 1-9 mark in one-score games. And though he couldn’t promise anything when it came to someone else’s choice, Jones reiterated he had “faith in my dawg coming back.”
It turned out he had reason for that conviction.
Kelce’s return should help provide stability for an offense that will be looking to recover from that disappointing 2025 season. The team, with limited salary-cap space, will likely move on from quite a few of its pending free agents this offseason; that offensive list includes running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt and receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Hollywood Brown and Tyquan Thornton.
Kelce coming back also provides a security blanket option for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whose mobility could be limited for a while as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in December. Though no timetable has been set for Mahomes’ return, he could be back as soon as the team’s season opener.
The Chiefs drafted Kelce in the third round (No. 63) in 2013. After missing nearly his entire rookie season with a bone bruise, Kelce has gone on to start 185 regular-season games with Kansas City over the next 12 years.
Kelce is one of three tight ends to catch 1,000 passes and one of five to break 10,000 receiving yards. During the 2025 season, he also became the franchise leader in touchdowns, surpassing running back Priest Holmes with a TD reception in Week 11 against the Denver Broncos.
At his peak, Kelce strung together some of the most dominant performances at his position, including a tight-end record 1,416 yards in 2020. Kelce also had seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2016 to 2022, with five of those coming with Mahomes as the starting quarterback; no other tight end has more than four such campaigns.
Over the past three years, Kelce became a worldwide celebrity after he began dating pop superstar Taylor Swift. The two connected after Kelce attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it during a July 2023 concert tour stop at Arrowhead Stadium.
Their relationship became public when Swift attended the Chiefs’ home game to watch Kelce on Sept. 24, 2023. Kelce proposed to Swift in August 2025, with a wedding date set for June 13, 2026.
The spotlight has been brighter on Kelce the past few years. He launched his “New Heights” podcast with Jason in 2022, which quickly became one of the world’s most-listened-to shows. He hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2023, played a supporting role in the FX horror series “Grotesquerie” in 2024 and was featured on the cover of GQ magazine in August 2025.
Mahomes and Kelce formed an impressive connection over the years, as no quarterback/receiver duo has combined for more playoff touchdowns (19). Mahomes also consistently turned to Kelce in crucial moments during the team’s playoff runs.
In the famous “13 Seconds Game,” Mahomes connected with Kelce to set up a 49-yard Harrison Butker field goal that sent the 2021 AFC divisional-round game against the Buffalo Bills to overtime. Kelce later hauled in the winning touchdown pass in that game.
Kelce has been excellent in his five Super Bowl appearances, too, posting the most Super Bowl receptions of all time (35) while ranking second behind Jerry Rice in receiving yards with 389.
