It looks like Travis Kelce will be giving at least one more season of his NFL career to the Kansas City Chiefs, as clear hints suggest he’s coming back for year 13 in red and white

Travis Kelce looks to be returning to the NFL in 2025 (Image: Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Travis Kelce looks to be returning to the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason, after weeks of speculation surrounding his potential retirement following their gut-punching defeat at Super Bowl LIX.

The veteran tight end had been quiet on the retirement front since the Chiefs were dominated in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles, who won their second-ever Lombardi with a convincing scoreline of 40-22. Kelce underperformed in the game, catching four passes for 39 yards while recording no score – leading to many speculating that this would be his last game in a Chiefs jersey after they missed the chance of an historic three-peat.

Previously, Kelce appeared on his New Heights podcast alongside brother Jason to discuss the possibility of him hanging up his helmet. He said: “I know everybody wants to know whether I’m playing next year and, right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road.

“I’m kicking every can I can down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions. I’ve been fortunate over the past five, six years I’ve played more football than anybody. The fact that we keep going to these AFC championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body.”

He added: “I think I owe it to my team-mates that if I do come back, it’s going to be a whole-hearted decision. Not half-a**ing it. I’m fully here for them and I think I could play.

“It’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human and as a person to take on all of that responsibility.”

However, the podcast’s X account tweeted an exciting video on Thursday, with the caption: “From the desk of @tkelce: ITS TIME FOR YEAR 13. Full breakdown on next week’s episode!!!” The video is a scene from the movie Wolf of Wall Street, where main character Jordan Belfort – played by Leonardo DiCaprio – tells his co-workers that he’s “not f***ing leaving”.

WARNING: FOUL LANGUAGE IN VIDEO

This is a great sign that Kelce will in fact be staying in the NFL for 2025, and he also looks to be telling family and friends of his plans. On Thursday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee claimed to have received a text from Kelce that depicted he’d be returning to the Chiefs this year.

The podcast host said it read: “I’m coming back for sure. I’m gonna try and get to the best shape I’ve been this offseason, and get back to the mountain top.

“I’ve got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can’t go out like that!!!!”

So, how did Kelce come to the decision not to retire from the NFL? Here, Mirror US Sport has looked into some of the known and potential further reasons as to why the 35-year-old is coming back to the Chiefs – including a private conversation with Andy Reid and girlfriend Taylor Swift’s influence.

Private Andy Reid meeting

Andy Reid’s private meeting with Travis looks to have done the trick ( Image: Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Kelce’s private meeting with his head coach Andy Reid could have been a large part of the reasoning as to why he felt fired up enough to commit to another season with the Chiefs.

We reported earlier this week that Kansas City’s general manager Brett Veach was confident that Kelce would return to finish out his $34.25m contract, as he has one year left on the deal.

As he spoke to reporters before the NFL Scouting Combine began, Veach expressed desire for Kelce to continue in the sport he has been so successful in – and that he is expecting him back for the start of training camp.

The Chiefs boss said: “How we left at the end of the season is that he was fired up. He has one more year under contract. [I] still think he has that fire and desire to play. As far as I’m concerned there is no deadline. I think we left it as he’d be back. We’re excited to get him back and get him going.”

However, head coach Reid was a little bit more coy about the meeting he had with Kelce after the season ended, stopping short of confirming the tight end’s return to the team in 2025.

At the same event, Reid did confirm that the pair have been in private discussion over his future – but refused to state whether or not he will be with the Chiefs next year.

Andy Reid looks to have full faith in his tight end star ( Image: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

The 66-year-old said: “That’s up to Travis. At this point, get out of town and relax. That’s kind of my motto for these guys. They played a lot of games… for a consistent amount of seasons here. And so you get to the end of the thing, you’ve exhausted yourself mentally and physically.

“Step back and take care of that, then we’ll talk. But for right now, I think that’s what he’s doing. He and I will get together. Now, listen, I had exit meetings with all the guys before they left. So we did have a chance to talk.”

This private meeting may well have been the turning point in Travis’ decision making when it came to his future – as he clearly has a lot of respect for his coach. Speaking before Super Bowl LIX, Kelce praised Reid and even went as far as to say the veteran coach was like a “father figure” to him.

Travis said: “I think the first year to two years I was with Coach Reid, I was like, ‘man this guy’s not messing around.’ There wasn’t too much of the personality that I see now.

“Now he’s like a father figure to me, like one of my uncles growing up that I respect so much because of who he is. I owe everything to that man in my career, where it’s gone – where I was [in college] at Cincinnati and where I am now, I have nothing but respect for coach Reid and how he’s helped me get to where I am in my life.”

Patrick Mahomes bond

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have one of the greatest partnerships in NFL history ( Image: Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

It looks like Travis’ team-mates will be excited that they’ll get to play another year with the veteran tight end – with his quarterback Patrick Mahomes particularly enthused about the plan.

Following the news from McAfee that Kelce will be returning, Mahomes responded to the tweet on X with a gif from the sports docuseries ‘The Last Dance’ – potentially suggesting that his team-mate and close friend will retire following the 2025 season.

The pair have been inseparable since they began working together with the Chiefs, breaking records as an unstoppable QB-TE duo. Mahomes and Kelce have combined for 19 touchdowns in 21 playoff games, surpassing Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski’s record of 15 postseason TDs in tandem. Mahomes also helped Kelce pass Jerry Rice’s record for the most 100-yard receiving games in play-off history, with nine in total.

When news was circulating about Kelce’s potential retirement, Mahomes stated that he’d let his team-mate “make that decision on his own”, but believes he “still has a lot of football left in him”.

The quarterback said: “He’s given so much to this team and to the NFL. And he’s been such a joy, not only for me to work with, but for people to watch.”

So, if Kelce is returning this season, Mahomes will be more than happy to continue his formidable partnership with his tight end – a relationship that is regarded as one of the greatest in NFL history.

Their other team-mates appear to have helped Kelce make his decision, too, after he felt he’d let them down at Super Bowl LIX. In his message to McAfee, the words “how I got the guys ready for battle” were included, and this shows how he felt responsible for how not only he played but some of his less experienced team-mates performed on the day.

Taylor Swift’s supportive arm through music

Taylor Swift’s music has helped Travis though his hard times following a Super Bowl loss ( Image: Emily Curiel/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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It looks like it is not just Taylor Swift’s love and support as a girlfriend that has gotten Kelce through his tough Super Bowl loss – her award-winning music has also been a great help.

During an episode of New Heights, Jason asked his brother if he was listening to any “sad music” to deal with the heartbreaking Super Bowl loss.

Travis then went on to reveal that his pop star girlfriend’s songs were what has gotten him through his tough time since the game concluded on February 9.

He said: “Jason, the only way you can find yourself in the light is to find yourself in the dark first. Right. I listen to music that is very telling of my mood. I just listen to Taylor’s music. She has something for everything.”

Jason replied: “That’s fair. That’s a good point. No matter what mood, you can find some Taylor music,” before Travis added: “And how the Eagles broke my heart.”

It looks like the couple’s supportive relationship has been a helping hand in Travis making a decision on his NFL future – and Swift seems to have given her blessing for her beau to continue his career with the Chiefs.

Brother Jason’s praise for Travis’ decision-making

Jason Kelce is extremely supportive of his brother Travis ( Image: Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Jason Kelce had made his thoughts clear on Travis’ future with the NFL earlier this month too – praising the tight end’s ability to make naturally difficult decisions look easy in hindsight.

While appearing on the Steam Room podcast with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley, Jason said that he believed his brother had already made up his mind – and it was likely an easy thing for him to do.

The former Eagles center said: “I think Travis – I think he probably, in his heart, already knows what he wants to do. We’re very similar people, but we also have different ways of thinking about things. Sometimes I can overanalyze situations, and any big decision I’m having in my life I’ll think about the negatives and what about this or that.

“My brother has this way of being like, ‘hey man, you want to play or you don’t want to play.'”

The two brothers have been stalwarts of the NFL for years, with Jason appearing in the 2011 Draft and Travis a couple of years later in the 2013 Draft.

Travis got the better of his older brother in Super Bowl LVII, where the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 to clinch their third Lombardi. However, the Eagles avenged this loss in LIX with a damning 40-22 victory – although Jason watched on from the sidelines, as he had already retired from playing.

Once there is official confirmation from both player and team that Travis – who must feel like he’s also physically ready to go again – will return to play for the Chiefs in 2025 and go on the hunt for another Super Bowl title, it is likely we will see Jason cheering on his younger brother from the sidelines – like he has done in many years past.