Update: Travis Kelce returns on one-year deal, according to reports
Kelce officially returns for a 14th season
UPDATE: Hours after news broke of Kelce expected to return, multiple late-afternoon reports indicated it’s a done deal. The NFL Network reports Kelce will sign a one-year deal worth up to $15 million.
Travis Kelce is apparently back for a 14th season.
According to multiple reports, Kelce’s agents have informed interested teams that Kelce intends to return to the Chiefs.
The NFL Network first reported the news.
Monday’s news comes two weeks after general manager Brett Veach spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Veach pointed out that there was open dialogue between the Chiefs and Kelce’s agents, and Veach appeared optimistic.
“Travis is the best,” Veach said then. “He’s an icon and hopefully he comes back, and we’ll just let that process play out.”
Kelce, who turns 37 on Oct. 5, started all 17 games in 2025, totaling 76 catches for 851 yards receiving and five touchdowns on 108 targets.
He is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in catches (1,080), yards receiving (13,002) and touchdowns (82), and has helped the team win three Super Bowl championships.
Kelce, one of the NFL’s all-time best at the tight end position, garnered first-team All-Pro four times in his decorated career and was selected to 11 Pro Bowls.
He recorded seven straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2016 to 2022, earning a spot on the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team.
Kelce originally joined the Chiefs in 2013 as a third-round pick out of Cincinnati and has been with coach Andy Reid since entering the league.