BREAKING: Chiefs' Travis Kelce Will Return in 2025

Pat McAfee’s iPhone has a lot of valuable contacts. One of them told McAfee on Thursday that Travis Kelce is returning to play in 2025.

In the first reported confirmation that the future Hall of Famer will return for a 13th NFL season, McAfee read the text from his phone on Thursday’s Pat McAfee Show.

“We heard Brett Veach speak on the Travis Kelce future conversation and speculation,” McAfee began. “We heard coach Andy Reid speak on the speculation of Travis Kelce’s future. And I decided to reach out to a source who knows and say like, ‘Hey, are we playing next year?’

“And, message was, ‘My dawg,’ exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point. … ‘I'm coming back for sure. Gonna try and get to the best shape I've been this offseason and get back to the mountain top. Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can't go out like that,’ exclamation point, exclamation point, exclamation point and -- guess what? -- one more exclamation point.”

I reached out to source(s) on the future of @tkelce..

Source(s) said I'M COMING BACK FOR SURE..

I'm gonna get in the best shape of my life this offseason..

I've got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and I can't go out like that!!!! #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/HqfpdqEjqa
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 27, 2025

McAfee and Kelce are believed to be close. The former Colts punter, a two-time Pro Bowler, has been a mentor for Kelce and brother Jason in transitioning to their post-playing careers in media. McAfee has enjoyed tremendous success in his own transition.

The Kelce brothers have their own immensely popular show, the New Heights podcast, which is on hiatus as the tight end considers his NFL future.

Veach held nothing back on Tuesday, asked to address Kelce’s future with his team.

“How we left it at the end of the season is that he was fired up,” Veach told reporters in Indianapolis, referring to his exit interview with Kelce after Kansas City’s Super Bowl loss. “He has one more year under contract. I still think he has that fire and desire to play.”

Reid wasn’t as forthright, but gave no signs Kelce was seriously considering retirement, either.

“Get out of town and relax,” Reid said Tuesday. “That’s kind of my motto for these guys. They played a lot of games, and for a consistent amount of seasons here. So, you get to the end of the thing, you’ve exhausted yourself mentally and physically, step back and take care of that. Then, we’ll talk.”

Apparently, that talk has already happened. And while the Chiefs don’t appear to be considering Kelce as a salary-cap casualty, they may need to talk about a different role with the emergence of tight end Noah Gray.

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