Travis Kelce opens up about ‘tough reality’ as he discusses making retirement decision following Super Bowl loss

Travis Kelce made it clear he has some big decisions to make as he opened up following his team's Super Bowl loss last weekend.

Kelce, who found fame playing for the Kansas City Chiefs— as well as being Taylor Swift's beau — looked understandably devastated when the Chiefs failed to secure their third Super Bowl win in a row on Sunday (February 9).

The Chiefs went head-to-head against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Eagles wiped the floor with last year's winners and defeated Kelce's team 40 - 22.

In the wake of the Chiefs' brutal loss, the team's head coach, Andy Reid, shared some hard truths with the players.

"This one’s gonna hurt," he said.

"Let it hurt and figure it out, and figure out how to get better because of it."

Questions have since been raised about 35-year-old Kelce's future in the NFL, which he's been a part of for 12 years.

Speaking on this, Kelce discussed the 'wear and tear' his body has endured, particularly in the wake of the Chiefs' success in recent years.

"The fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league," he said on his New Heights podcast which he hosts with his brother, Jason Kelce.

Travis Kelce's team, the Kansas City Chiefs, lost the 2025 Super Bowl (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

"That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body," he went on. "It’s a lot of time in the building."

Kelce continued: "That process can be grueling. It can weigh on you. It can make you better and it can drive you crazy.

"Right now, it was one of those things where it was driving me crazy this year. It happens as you tail off towards the back nine of your career."

Directly addressing if he's going to play football next year, Kelce said: "I know everybody wants to know whether I am playing next year and right now I am just kicking everything down the road. I am kicking every can I can down the road.

"I am not making any crazy decisions, but right now the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches understanding there’s a lot that goes into this thing."

According to Retire Temecula, the average age for an NFL player to retire is 27.6 years old.

"This early retirement age is often due to the physically demanding nature of football," the website notes.

Elsewhere in the episode, Kelce opened up about the mistakes he thinks he made on the pitch during the big game.

“It just wasn’t our day - couldn’t find a lick of momentum,” he began. “I’m kicking myself for some of the tiny, tiny decisions I made on the field.

“I wasn’t the best leader that I could be in motivating my guys and keeping my guys calm, cool and collected.

“It’s a hard reality. I love my teammates, I love my coaches, Chiefs Kingdom. I’m sorry for how it ended. I have a beautiful life, I have loved ones, I have the most amazing family in the world that supports me in everything I do and they were all there cheering me on,” he said.