Travis Kelce Is ‘Coming Back’ to the Kansas City Chiefs Amid Retirement Rumors, Reporter Claims

Travis Kelce may have some more football in him after all.

After months of speculation regarding whether or not the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 36, will soon announce his retirement, ESPN Chiefs reporter Nate Taylor — a highly regarded journalist who has covered the Chiefs since 2018 — seems confident Kelce will return.

During Taylor’s Wednesday, March 4, appearance on 96.5 The Fan, the sports reporter was asked if the Chiefs’ “current roster construction” has “any impact” on what decision Kelce makes regarding his future.

“He’s coming back, guys,” Taylor said bluntly. “Every indication I’ve gotten is that Travis Kelce is looking forward to coming back. When we’ll know that for sure, that’s really his prerogative.”

“I know some people are like, ‘Well, if he hasn’t really signed before free agency starts, how does that affect free agency?’” Taylor continued. “It really doesn’t affect free agency. They can allocate that money however they want.”

According to NFL.com, the free agency negotiating window opens Monday, March 9, with the signing period officially beginning Wednesday, March 11, at 4 p.m. ET. It marks the first major phase of roster building during the offseason.

Taylor explained that the Chiefs — who recently adjusted star quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ 2026 salary to create cap room — “might” give Kelce “a two-year deal where you can spread some of that money out and give a pretty nice chunk of signing bonus to get that base salary to be manageable for 2026.”

“And hey, if you got to eat it in 2027, if he retires, you go ahead and eat it,” Taylor explained. “He’s giving you everything you could have asked for already.”

Taylor also said that Chiefs fans “have to be realistic” about this upcoming season, considering Mahomes tore his ACL in December, ending his season early.

“What you get in 2026 you hope is a lot better than what you got in 2025,” Taylor said. “And if the quarterback comes through the 2026 season healthy, hopefully you got a crew that’s ready to go in 2027 that’s young, that’s youthful, that reminds you of what you saw in 2022 and 2023 — even if Travis Kelce isn’t around for the ‘27 season.”

During a December 25 press conference following the Chiefs’ Christmas Day game, Kelce was asked if he thought the holiday matchup could be his last game at Arrowhead Stadium.

“No,” he told reporters at the time following the Chiefs’ loss. “The only time it ever crossed my mind is [when] I was driving in the other day, and I saw how much the Powerball was, and I was like, ‘Man, if I could just win that, I wouldn’t have to work another day of my life.”

As people in the room began to laugh, one person followed up by asking Kelce, “That’s what’s keeping you here?”

“No, man,” Kelce replied. “Honestly, I’ve been just focused on trying to win football games, man. I’ll let that be a decision that I make with my family, friends, the Chiefs organization, when the time comes.”