Travis Kelce on Contract Adjustment, Long-Term Chiefs Future

Fresh off signing an adjusted deal, Kelce expressed gratitude to the Chiefs and briefly weighed in on life once the deal expires.

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) celebrates after winning Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For most of Travis Kelce's career with the Kansas City Chiefs, the narrative has been that he's underpaid relative to his production. With a recent adjustment to his contract, the team made a nice gesture to its future Hall of Fame tight end by giving him a raise and more guarantees in the near future.

The deal keeps Kelce's original timeline, which is 2024 and 2025, before expiring. Not only is it a nice bump in pay and a better structure, but it could provide a smooth exit plan if the 34-year-old wants it to be.

For now, though, Kelce is locked in with Kansas City for two more seasons. On this week's New Heights podcast with his brother Jason, Kelce thanked the Chiefs for getting the deal done. He also elaborated on why setting a new tight end record was so important, in addition to sharing a brief initial thought on NFL life beyond this current contract.

"I am so freaking thankful to Brett Veach, Mark Donovan, Coach Reid, Big Red — I love you big guy — and obviously Clark Hunt," Kelce said. "The Hunt family has been absolutely unbelievable to not only myself and this Kansas City community, but they've just been so generous since I've been here in making it feel like home. And for the past 12 years, man, I've been able to make this place exactly that and I've loved every single second of it. I'm going to love the next two years playing here in Kansas City, and we'll see what happens after that.

"But I am so excited and I'm so thankful to this organization for getting it done and making me feel appreciated and compensated the right way. And on top of that, I got to move the needle for the tight end room. It's everyone else's job to go out there and keep making that tight end AAV number go up and up with every single contract that's better than mine in the future."

This sentiment echoes what Kelce referenced on Monday: two more years. Whether he takes things year-by-year after that is up to him, but this short-term security is good for both him and the team. Kelce's excited to be around, and general manager Brett Veach is happy to take care of a franchise legend who fits into the "outliers" category.

Kelce, who's seen and done just about everything in his tenure with the Chiefs, is playing with house money now. Regardless of how many more yards he gains, touchdowns he scores or Super Bowl rings he collects, he's got a gold jacket in Canton waiting for him. He knows that, yet he was one of the first players out on the field for Phase Two of Kansas City's offseason program. As he turns 35 later this year and 36 in 2025, he'll look to keep fighting off Father Time.

Thanks to this contract adjustment, Kelce will be resetting the tight end market in the process. With pen put to paper and the deal filed away, he's excited to keep moving forward.

"I can't thank Kansas City enough [and] my agents for keep knocking on that door to see if anything's available," Kelce said. "I'm not a guy that sits out, I'm not a guy that holds out. I'm a guy that loves coming into the building, and the Chiefs know that. So for them to, first of all, want to be able to get this done for me knowing how much blood, sweat and tears I put into this thing for them, I'm extremely grateful and extremely thankful for everybody involved. I love Kansas City for it."

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