Travis Kelce Gave Early Commitment to Chiefs
On March 9, Travis Kelce agreed to a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs with a maximum value of $15 million, putting to rest public speculation that the veteran tight end would retire.
In public, Kelce appeared to be mulling retirement after 13 years in the NFL. The Chiefs finished the 2025 campaign with a 6-11 record, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL and LCL injuries that threatened his ability to start in Week 1.
Privately, the Chiefs were planning for Kelce to return.
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During an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Wednesday, the Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said Kelce told the team in his exit interview that he planned to return in 2026. Veach said there was a time near the end of last season that the Chiefs weren’t sure if Kelce wanted to return.
“When you’re going through the season that we had, certainly like mid-November, early December, there was probably some question in my mind,” Veach said. “I will say those questions were alleviated almost immediately.
“We played in (Las) Vegas last game of the season. We came back here that Monday, we had player exit interviews and Travis popped into the office. We talked about a lot of stuff on the coaching staff, on the roster staff, but he basically said, ‘I’m not going out like this. I’m gonna take a few weeks off here, but let’s get in touch and let’s plan on me being here.'”
Veach believes Kelce wants to help Mahomes through his rehab process this offseason. The two teammates have a close relationship.
Kansas City made its offseason plans around Kelce returning well before the tight end signed his contract.
“So, we knew early on that he was coming back, which was very helpful and beneficial for us because we attacked our free agency plan, we already kind of put away and allocated for Travis,” Veach said. “It helped free us up to be more decisive and kind of carry through with our plan.”
Kansas City made impressive additions in free agency that should help the team make a turnaround in the upcoming season. Running back Kenneth Walker III will give the offense help in the backfield that has been sorely missing in recent years.
Safety Alohi Gilman, defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga and cornerback Kader Kohl will give the defense much-needed depth.
Kansas City added cornerback Mansoor Delane with the No. 6 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The Chiefs traded cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams for four draft picks, including the No. 29 pick that would turn into defensive tackle Peter Woods.
While the rest of the league was waiting for the Chiefs to think about adding a tight end, Veach knew the position wasn’t a worry this offseason. The additions the Chiefs made with that knowledge could put the team in a better position to return to the playoffs.
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 8:04 PM.