The Kansas City Chiefs are one win away from becoming the first team in NFL history to three-peat as Super Bowl champions.
But standing in their way are the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, who gave KC all it could handle when the two teams met two years ago in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.
While most of the credit for the Chiefs dynasty goes to coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes — and rightfully so — tight end Travis Kelce’s contributions to the team’s run of three Super Bowl titles in five years shouldn’t go unnoticed.
Kelce holds multiple franchise records: career receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. He also holds several NFL records among tight ends: consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, single-season receiving yards and career postseason touchdown catches and receiving yards.
Despite everything Kelce has accomplished in his career, some believe there’s a good chance he will retire or the Chiefs will look to move on from him once the season ends.
Ben Rolfe of Pro Football Network falls in the latter category. He recently predicted Kelce would be a salary cap casualty in the offseason.
“Just hear me out,” Rolfe wrote. “Travis Kelce is a legitimate cut candidate for the Kansas City Chiefs for a couple of reasons. … Despite his playoff performances, Kelce has been a fading force this season. His yards per reception had been above 12 for nine straight years entering 2023. Last year, that dropped to 10.6, and in 2024, it fell to 8.5.
Tight end Travis Kelce celebrates after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium.
“The eight touchdowns he scored over the last two seasons combined would have been considered a bad year between 2017 and 2022. Kelce can clearly still be a role player for the Chiefs, but a role player costing $19.8 million is crazy, no matter how great they have been for your franchise in their career. … (The Chiefs) could just throw four void years on and move upward of $12.5 million into the future as a thank-you to the veteran.”
Given how beloved Kelce is among Chiefs fans, it seems unlikely the franchise would just cut ties with him over money without making a good-faith effort to hash out some sort of mutually beneficial deal.
Though the $17.25 million Kansas City would save against a $2.55 million dead-cap hit is pretty enticing, there’s a greater chance the Chiefs either add a few void years onto Kelce’s contract to bring his salary down or they cut him in a paper transaction to re-sign him to a deal that’s more team-friendly.
