Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is criminally underpaid. He has been the most productive tight end in the NFL for the past half decade and is showing now signs of stopping. After losing Tyreek Hill last year, Kelce became the number one target and teams knew it. They still couldn’t stop him. Kelce was recently asked about being underpaid and he simply said, “I love winning”.
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Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce Loves Winning
Kelce, 33, is scheduled to make a base salary of $11.25 million this season, ranked 52nd among NFL players. He is most definitely not the 52nd ranked player in the league. He has posted seven straight seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards which is an NFL record for tight ends. Kelce had this to say about his contract.
“When I saw Tyreek go and get 30 [million] a year, in the back of my head, I was like, man, that’s two to three times what I’m making right now,” he told Vanity Fair. “I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere, and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in.”
A big contract is great but it does hinder what the team can do for others.
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Money For Others
The rookie quarterback is often the biggest advantage in football. There is a reason the San Francisco 49ers are able to sign all of these players to huge contracts. They do not have an expensive quarterback on their roster. Kelce’s decision is making it easier for the Kansas City Chiefs to find other talent. If he demanded a huge payday, no doubt the Chiefs would gladly hand it over. However, they would then be relying on base salary players to step up in other positions. This is a riskier strategy and the Chiefs have been able to sustain success thanks to the ability to sign players to key positions.
You have to applaud Travis Kelce. He will most likely go down as the greatest tight end in NFL history thanks to the fact that he hasn’t demanded a huge contract. The Chiefs look to defend their title in 2023 and Kelce looks to continue his dominance on the field.
