Rob Gronkowski Has a ‘Gut Feeling’ About Travis Kelce’s Future in the NFL

There’s been speculation about Kelce’s potential retirement all year.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce hasn’t shared if he will officially retire after the 2025 season or not. / Amy Kontras-Imagn Images

Travis Kelce has a big decision to make this offseason. Should he return to the Chiefs for a 14th season, or should he hang up his helmet and retire?

This is a question that’s loomed over the tight end all year as he’s been pretty speculative by not giving a straight answer about his future in the league. Now with Patrick Mahomes out for the year and the Chiefs officially out of playoff contention, Kelce might shift some of his focus to figuring out what his future holds.

Rob Gronkowski can relate to the position Kelce’s in. Gronk is 36 years old now, the same age as Kelce, but originally retired at age 29, then came back for two seasons with Tom Brady and the Bucaneers before stepping away for good at age 33. Gronkowski chose to retire when he was still at a high point of his career, and he could see Kelce doing the same.

“My gut tells me about Travis Kelce that he will not be back next year,” Gronkowski told Kay Adams on Thursday. “... We’re just so used to Travis Kelce playing at such a high level that he has been doing his whole career, and now Father Time has gotten to him a little bit, so we’re all wondering, Oh, man, what happened? Well, that’s just Father Time. He’s still a very good tight end.

"My gut tells me [Travis Kelce] will not be back next year"

– Gronk on the Chiefs TE's future in the NFL@RobGronkowski | @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/z8ToqnipwA

— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) December 18, 2025

“In the end, overall where the Kansas City Chiefs are, with Patrick Mahomes getting hurt, with everything else going on in Travis Kelce’s life, I think this is his last year,” Gronkowski continued. “What a heck of a career he has had, no doubt about that.”

Gronkowski added that Kelce likely isn’t worried about potentially ending his career without Mahomes on the field with him. Instead, the tight end should look at his career as a whole and everything he’s accomplished, not just what these final three games will bring.

If Kelce’s career really does end in a few weeks, he’ll leave as a Kansas City legend, that’s for sure.

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