Chiefs CEO/chairman Clark Hunt shares thoughts on tight end Travis Kelce's future

Pete Grathoff, The Kansas City Star on Feb 4, 2025

Published in Football

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NEW ORLEANS — If you want to know what the future holds, there is perhaps no better city to find that answer than New Orleans.

There are more than a dozen places to find a psychic in the Big Easy, but it’s doubtful anyone would know what is ahead for Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

As he pursues a career in acting during the offseason, Kelce would find no better retirement script than one that has him winning a third straight Super Bowl with the Chiefs, then riding off into the sunset with Taylor Swift, the superstar singer and Kelce’s girlfriend.

That would require the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl again, which is no easy task. But Kelce, 35, was asked Monday at the Super Bowl opening night media festivities at the Superdome where he sees himself in three years.

“Oh man, I don’t know, hopefully still playing football. I love doing this. I love coming into work every day,” Kelce said. “And I feel like I’ve still got a lot of good football left in me. But we’ll see. We’ll see what happens.

“I know I’ve been setting myself up for other opportunities in my life, and that’s always been the goal — knowing that football only lasts for so long, you gotta find a way to get into another career, to another profession. And I’ve been doing that in my offseasons. But for the most part, I plan on being a Kansas City Chief and playing football.”

That certainly doesn’t sound like someone ready to hang up his cleats following Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Chiefs chairman/CEO Clark Hunt spoke with reporters Tuesday at the team hotel and was asked if he expects Kelce to play at least one more season.

“So he’s not made a decision that I’m aware of,” Hunt said. “I personally think he’ll be back because he loves the game so much. But we’re going to let him take the time he needs to make that decision, and certainly hope he wants to come back.”

Kelce is among the most decorated tight ends to play in the NFL (1,004 career receptions for 12,151 yards) and no one has more playoff receptions than his 174.

Hunt talked about what Kelce means to the Chiefs on and off the field.

“Specifically beyond his football athletic ability, it’s what he means to the team from a chemistry and energy standpoint,” Hunt said. “I think you’ve heard a lot of our young players say, I can’t believe how hard Travis practices every day. You know, here’s the most veteran player on the team, somebody who has earned the right to take it easy during the week if he wants to, but that’s not how he goes. He goes full speed, and then on game day, he’s an energy-giver on the sideline, particularly when things are not going our way.

“He encourages the guys: ‘Hey, we can get back in this. We can figure out how to get this done.’ And those are qualities that are probably as important as his tremendous football athletic ability, and certainly we’ll miss that (one day). And then there’s a whole other dynamic to the off-the-field side, right, (where he’s had) much room to grow here over the last couple years.”