Travis Kelce's new Chiefs contract sets him up for simple retirement plan

Travis Kelce is coming back for his 14th NFL season with the Kansas City Chiefs.

But will there be more than that? That's not a given. Retirement could be coming sooner rather than later.

Kelce's contract actually makes a retirement after the 2026 NFL season a quite easy one, given how the Chiefs set it up.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer wrote a new article that includes in its title: "How the Chiefs set TE up for a potential retirement tour."

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Basically, Breer explains that the Kelce contract structure makes it easy for him and the Chiefs to part ways after this upcoming season.

Kelce gets $12 million fully guaranteed money, per Breer -- $3 million base salary and $9 million in roster bonuses.

The contract actually spreads the money out over three years.

"The Chiefs have a long-standing policy of not doing void years, and the above two rules allow them to sidestep that (using a tactic the Eagles have over the years)," Breer writes. "Kelce has minimum salaries built into dummy years in 2027 and 2028, with a $40 million guarantee for 2028 vesting June 8 of next year—which will force the Chiefs to release him by then, and allow for them to spread the dead money out, since the date falls after June 1."

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Kelce can retire pretty simply with that aforementioned potential release after this year is over.

"The contract basically paves the way to retirement for Kelce," Breer writes. "If that’s the path, after Kelce’s 14th season, the Chiefs would then quietly release him after June 1. If it’s not, then they’d obviously renegotiate well before then."

Chiefs fans don't have to start missing Kelce yet.

His time to hang up his cleats is coming, though.

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