After helping guide the Kansas City Chiefs to a second consecutive Super Bowl title this past season, there were a lot of rumors that Travis Kelce would choose to retire from the game, especially considering his new relationship with pop sensation Taylor Swift, who obviously lives a very busy life full of international travel. But Kelce is back, and he recently gave some insight as to when he will walk away from the game.
During the most recent episode of his New Heights podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, Travis Kelce opened up a little bit about his retirement plans as he made it clear that his ultimate goal is to simply be able to walk away from the game on his own terms, not because of an injury that causes him to end his career.
“If I can go out on my terms and not have something happen to my body, like a big-time injury to where I have to step away, that’s the biggest goal in football to be able to do it on my terms,” Kelce said according to the New York Post.
As for when he will decide to retire, Kelce made it clear that it will come down to how he is performing on the field. Currently, Kelce is arguably the most dominant tight end in the entire league. And as long as he stays that way, it sounds like he’ll continue playing. But as soon as his age causes him to become just an average player, he’ll choose to walk away from the game at that point.
“I love playing at it at a level where I know I can have a bunch of success,” Kelce explained. “I know I can go out there and catch a flat route and turn it into a 15-20-yard gain and make a few guys miss, the moment that I can’t do that, I think that’s when I’m going to be when I’m like, alright, what am I doing this for?
“I get excitement out of catching a ball, splitting a bunch of defenders and getting a huge first down when nobody expected me to do it. Or I scored a huge touchdown in a playoff game in the fourth quarter when the team needed it the most. The moment that I can’t do that, and I’m playing it at an average or a less of a successful level than I am right now, I think that’s when I’m probably going to call it quits.”
Kelce has previously given at least some sort of timeline as to when he might walk away from the game as he made it clear that he has no intention of playing for another coach other than Andy Reid, revealing that if Reid ever chooses to retire, he’ll choose to retire with him.
“I’m a passionate guy, I love coach Reid, coach Reid knows how much I love to play for him, I love to be a product of his coaching career,” Kelce said during an episode of his podcast back in February. “I’m not playing for anyone else but Big Red. If he calls it quits, I’m out there with him. He’s not though.”
Of course, that does not appear to be an immediate concern as Reid just signed a contract that runs through the 2029 season, so it sounds like he is planning to be the coach of the Chiefs for quite a long time.
Kelce may not have given an explicit timeline for his retirement, but he did provide enough hints that it shouldn’t be a surprise to many fans when he does decide to formally walk away from the game.
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