Travis Kelce has new $15 million reason to choose retirement over returning to Chiefs

Travis Kelce reportedly has at least $15 million worth of reasons to retire instead of playing another season for the Kansas City Chiefs.

According to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, Kelce "probably could pick up at least $15 million per year" if he goes into broadcasting as a studio analyst.

Marchand adds that Kelce "would like to call games" instead of working in the studio, but either post-playing career will be lucrative for him.

"Travis Kelce appears as if he will try to play another season before potentially trying broadcasting, where he would like to call games, but probably could pick up at least $15 million per year as a studio presence," Marchand reported.

As Marchand notes, there will be some top television jobs up for grabs.

He reports that Tony Dungy is likely done at NBC, Matt Ryan has left CBS to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons, and Jimmy Johnson retired from FOX last year.

 Kelce has long been considered a top candidate to take some kind of job in media after his playing career is over, but nothing is set in stone yet and Kelce has not made a public announcement yet.

The expectation is, of course, that if Kelce returns for another season, he'll continue playing for the Chiefs.

That said, Kansas City is in a rough spot, as the team is climbing out of a financial hole in terms of cap space and has a lot of holes to fill, and Patrick Mahomes isn't guaranteed to be ready for the beginning of the 2026 campaign after he suffered a torn ACL late in the 2025 season.

Whether he plays or chooses to retire in 2026, Kelce is going to be very busy.

He still has his own podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, and Travis is engaged to pop superstar Taylor Swift, with their wedding date set for June 13. Kelce has also dabbled in acting, so that could also be in his future.

If Kelce chooses to retire, the Chiefs will have a big void to fill on offense.

Granted, Kelce isn't the superstar he once was, but he's still a key cog in the Chiefs' offense and a top weapon for Mahomes.

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