Chiefs' Travis Kelce had selfless reason for wanting to reset market
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce explained during the latest edition of the “New Heights” podcast why becoming the NFL’s highest-paid player at the position was about more than just getting paid what he feels he’s worth.
“I’m so excited and so thankful to this organization for getting it done, 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,” Travis told his brother and retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce about his new two-year contract, per Adam Teicher of ESPN. “It’s everyone else’s job to keep making that tight-end AAV [average annual value] go up and up with every single contract that’s better than mine in the future.”
Earlier this spring, New York Yankees All-Star outfielder Juan Soto told Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic how important it is for a player in his position “to think about the guys who come in behind you” regarding contract negotiations. Meanwhile, the market for top-tier NFL quarterbacks is reset just about every offseason.
A future Hall of Famer, Travis Kelce openly talked in 2023 about being “underpaid” as it pertains to how he has helped the Chiefs claim three Super Bowl titles since February 2020.
The 34-year-old also hinted this past fall that he could retire sooner rather than later, but Travis told Jason that he never planned to threaten the Chiefs with a possible holdout this summer.
“I’m not a guy that sits out,” Travis said. “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 want to get this done for me knowing how much blood, sweat and tears that I put into this thing, I’m extremely grateful.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Chiefs as the betting favorites at +550 odds to win Super Bowl LIX in February 2025.
While Travis recently was named the host of Amazon’s “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” program, he’s not yet finished pursuing his playing goals.
“The Hunt family has been 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,” Travis said on the podcast about team ownership and his future. “For the past [11] years I’ve been able to make this place exactly that, and I’ve loved every single second of it and I’m going to love the next two years playing here in Kansas City and we’ll see what happens after that.”
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