Travis Kelce Shuts Down Retirement Talk, Wants to Play ‘Until the Wheels Fall Off’

Despite embracing multiple off-the-field opportunities that have come his way, Travis Kelce has no immediate plans to leave football behind.

After the Kansas City Chiefs’ minicamp session on Tuesday, June 11, Kelce said, “I'm going to do it until the wheels fall off.”

"I know I'm 34 years old, about to be 35, but I have a love to do this right here in the middle of the heat in June,” Kelce explained. “I love coming to work every single day and doing this.”

Despite Kelce’s insistence that he hopes retirement “doesn't happen anytime soon,” even he acknowledged he’s not immune to the impact of Father Time.

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“I can definitely understand that it’s towards the end of the road than it is the beginning of it,” the superstar tight end said. 

In April, Kelce signed a two-year, $34.25 million contract extension with the Chiefs. The deal, which made him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, ensured his spot in Kansas City until the end of the 2027 season.

"I can't put a time frame on it,” Kelce said when directly asked about retirement. “I love coming to work every single day. Obviously, I know that there's opportunities outside of football for me, and I think you have to keep in perspective that I'm still a little kid when I come into this building."

Kelce has been a busy man since the Chiefs won their second consecutive Super Bowl in February. 

In addition to his ongoing romance with Taylor Swift, Kelce signed on to host the game show Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, which will stream on Prime Video, and recently completed a guest-starring role on the upcoming Ryan Murphy–produced show Grotesquerie.

All of his offseason hustle, Kelce explained, is to make sure he’s “set up after football, as well.”

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But members of Chiefs Kingdom don’t have anything to worry about — at least not yet — as Kelce doubled down on the passion he still has for football. 

"You have a certain focus to each day set yourself up to get better and better," Kelce said. "Seeing where the team is now, you have to find a way to play your best from this point on all the way till hopefully January and February.”

He continued, "The road has started, and I'm excited for it but I only know one way and that's the only way and that's the Andy Reid way."

Kelce, head coach Reid and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs begin their quest for back-to-back-to-back Super Bowl titles when they open the regular season on September 5 against the Baltimore Ravens.