Travis Kelce remains undecided about his playing future, and the Kansas City Chiefs will give him a month to make up his mind.
The team is asking the star tight end to state his position by March 14, The Athletic reported on Thursday.
There is a significance to the date choice: Kelce would be due an $11.5 million roster bonus on March 15 if he were to play on the final year of his contract in 2025.
Kelce, 35, is weighing his future in the wake of the Chiefs’ 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Super Bowl LIX.
Kelce wound up with four catches for 39 yards in New Orleans on Sunday.
“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,” Kelce said on his “New Heights” podcast released Wednesday.
A four-time first-team All-Pro and 10-time Pro Bowl choice through 12 NFL seasons, Kelce would carry a $19.8 million cap hit in 2025.
Kelce made 97 receptions for 823 yards in the 2024 regular season, his lowest yardage total since 2014. He posted seven consecutive 1,000-yard years from 2016-22.
“As you see yourself or not feel yourself have the success you once had, it’s a tough pill to swallow,” he said. “For that not to be there in the biggest moments, knowing your team’s counting on you, those are all extremely hard things … it’s just a tough reality.
“That process can be grueling. It can weigh on you, it can make you better, it can drive you crazy at the same time. And right now, it’s one of those things where it was driving me crazy this year. It happens as you kind of tail off towards the back nine of your career as SVP (ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt) would say.”
In 175 regular-season games, Kelce has 1,004 catches for 12,151 yards and 77 touchdowns. In 25 playoff games, he has 178 receptions for 2,078 yards and 20 TDs — all playoff records among tight ends.
–Field Level Media
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