How Chiefs structured Travis Kelce's contract to lessen salary-cap hit this year

Pete Grathoff, The Kansas City Star on Mar 16, 2026

Published in Football

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When tight end Travis Kelce eventually does retire from the NFL, there’s a very good chance his salary will count against the Chiefs’ cap in future years.

Sports Illustrated shared the details of Kelce’s 2026 contract, and it shows he will receive a $3 million base salary in 2026. He also will get a $3 million training-camp bonus and will make $6 million total in game bonuses. The latter two are guaranteed, SI reported, because they are 90-man roster bonuses, so Kelce could be injured and still would receive the money.

That’s only one of the creative ways the Chiefs structured Kelce’s contract.

The Chiefs took advantage of the NFL’s “50% Rule” to spread out the cap hit. Louisiana Sports said that rule can be used “when a player’s second-year salary (or next year) is less than half of the first (present year) and limits the amount of money that can be moved.”

SI reported Kelce’s cap hit will be $4,896,667 in 2026, a reasonable number for the Chiefs. There also is a dead-money amount of $3,551,667 for both 2027 and 2028.

“Kelce has minimum salaries built into dummy years in 2027 and 2028, with a $40 million guarantee for 2028 vesting June 8 of next year — which will force the Chiefs to release him by then, and allow for them to spread the dead money out, since the date falls after June 1,” wrote SI’s Albert Breer and Mike Kadlick.

NFL rules say a team that releases a player after June 1 can split the dead money hit over two years.

With the Chiefs expected to release Kelce in 2027 based on the contract structure, it seems likely Kelce will retire after the upcoming season.

The Sports Illustrated story also said Kelce can earn up to $3 million more in incentives based on the Chiefs making the playoffs with the full amount coming only if they make the Super Bowl.

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