‘Jobless’ Travis Kelce drops major hint on NFL future with emotional admission over Chiefs plans

Travis Kelce dropped a fresh retirement hint as he appeared on the New Heights podcast to discuss the end of the 2025 season.

It has long been speculated that the Kansas City Chiefs legend, 36, will call time on his Hall of Fame career.

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Many expected Kelce would hang up his cleats last year, before he eventually announced he would return in 2025 after suffering Super Bowl heartache at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.

But the season didn’t unfold as he would have liked, with the Chiefs struggling to a 6-11 record, which saw them eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago.

Following Sunday’s NFL finale against the Las Vegas Raiders, which Kansas City also lost, the legendary tight end has dropped a hint on what his future holds.

Travis Kelce want to be ‘regular human’ after tough 2025

“Now that the season is over, what is next for the Big Yeti?” his brother, Jason Kelce, asked on their New Heights podcast.

“How every season ends for me,” Travis, who joked he was ‘jobless’ at the start of the episode, responded.

“I’ll put my feet up and I’ll just be a human. Just being a regular human for a couple weeks, maybe a month or so, and try to figure out what I’m going to do next in terms of my future in football.

“You know, I’ve talked to a few people in the facility already, having the exit meetings and everything, and they know where I stand at least right now.

“There’s a lot of love for the game that’s still there, and I don’t think I’ll ever lose that.

“It’s a tough thing to navigate, but at the same time, if my body can heal up and rest up and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18, 20, 21-week run, I think I would do it in a heartbeat.

“So I think right now it’s just finding that answer and seeing how the body feels after this game and kind of when it all settles down.”

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Clearly, Kelce is not ready to shut the door on football for good quite yet, and fans will have to wait a little while longer for his final decision.

He was, though, later pushed by Jason on comments that Chiefs teammate Chris Jones had made soon after the season concluded.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the defensive tackle claimed Kelce will ‘be back next year.’

“That’s why we love Chris. He’s very optimistic,” the future Hall of Famer said, laughing.

How did Travis Kelce perform in 2025?

A big part of Kelce’s decision, it seems, will come down to if he can still compete at the top level for another year.

Teammate and close friend Patrick Mahomes noted eight months ago that the 36-year-old was in a great mindset, and not worried about a ‘last ride’ in 2025.

In reality, the stats told a different story.

The Chiefs were unable to rely on the Mahomes-Kelce linkup that powered a decade of dominance, and with just six wins on the season, went out with a whimper.

Kelce played in all 17 games, but racked up just 851 yards and five touchdowns in 2025.

He has been in decline since 2022, and is unlikely to ever hit the heights of 1,338 yards and 12 scores of that season, again.

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The decision, though, remains with Kelce — and he continues to leave the door open.

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