The Kansas City Chiefs gave Travis Kelce an ultimatum following the franchise’s 40-22 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX.
Kelce, 35, had one month to decide whether to continue playing football, or to retire, but he needed to let the Chiefs before the new NFL league year begins on March 14.
A 12-year-veteran, Kelce was a focal point of the Chiefs’ postseason run to New Orleans and Super Bowl LIX, but only caught 97 passes for a career-low 823 yards and three touchdowns this past season.
Given that Kelce, along with his brother Jason have a burgeoning sports media empire and his production dip during the 2024 campaign, questions about his playing future are relevant.
Travis Kelce’s Future the Defining Question of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Offseason
ESPN’s Dan Graziano put together a list of the biggest issue facing each NFL team this offseason, including the spectre of Kelce’s uncertain future hovering over the Chiefs’ plans.
“Kelce is scheduled to earn $17 million this season,” Graziano points out for ESPN. “Of that, $4.5 million is salary, $11.5 million is a roster bonus due on the third day of the league year and the remaining $1 million is a roster bonus due on August 1. So if he’s still on the roster on March 15 (third day of the league year) and decides to retire after that, the Chiefs would have already paid him $11.5 million to not play, and his 2025 dead cap number would rise from around $2.55 million to around $14 million.
“That’s why the Chiefs would like an answer from Kelce by the time that roster bonus is due. But it’s important to mention this is one of the greatest players in franchise history and isn’t likely to be shoved out the door over $11.5 million. It’s entirely possible Kelce and the Chiefs could work something out, push back the roster bonus deadline, adjust the contract to make him a post-June 1 cut if he retires, etc. And if he decides to play again, that $17 million would be exactly what he earned in 2024 and probably wouldn’t require any more adjustments.”
Given that the Chiefs are currently projected to be over the cap ahead of free agency getting underway, gaining clarity from Kelce may be paramount to the team’s offseason plans.
Just how much cap space needs to be created by a possible Patrick Mahomes restructuring and other moves may depend on whether Kansas City expects to be on the hook for Kelce’s full roster bonus that will be coming due in March.
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