Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce entered his 13th year in the NFL last season, and retirement rumors have been looming. With the Chiefs failing to make it to the playoffs this year, conversations among NFL fans and experts surrounding a potential retirement from the three-time Super Bowl champion would not be unexpected.
However, Travis has yet to make an announcement on which way the 2026-27 season will go. He did share recently on New Heights — the podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason Kelce — about what he would miss about playing in the NFL.
“Man, I think it's just those those moments in the big games, man,” Travis shared with Jason and their special guest, retired NFL star Randy Moss, on the Wednesday, March 4 episode of the podcast.
Travis shared that being on the field with his teammates and putting on a show for fans is what he will miss.
“The feeling of having to rise to the occasion, be there for, you know, 70,000, that are all counting on you out there, outside of just the guys that you go to war with, you guys go to battle with, man.”
“Those moments of rising to the occasion in the heat of the battle, you know, in the playoffs and all the big games out there, man, that's a feeling that I know I'll never get again. And those are the things that you cherish the most.”
Travis looked back on his NFL career with the Chiefs making the playoffs for a decade straight as well as playing in five Super Bowls — winning three — were some of the highlights of his career. Before making it to those milestones, he also loved the grit and hard work of making it to that point.
“And especially, you know, if you're fortunate enough to to be in the playoffs and make runs at it, man, the satisfaction that you get and the successful feeling you get of all the hard work that you put in is finally paying off, and I think that'll that'll be one of the things I miss the most, man, for sure,” he added.
Jason Kelce shares what he misses about playing in the NFL
Jason retired from the NFL in 2024 following 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He won one Super Bowl, is a seven-time Pro Bowler, and a six-time All-Pro. The Kelce brothers made history playing against one another as the first brothers to play against each other in a Super Bowl, which occurred in 2023. As Travis was reflecting on his favorite moments, Jason also followed suit.
“I knew I was gonna miss competing and playing and game day,” Jason explained. “What I didn't know I was gonna miss was the locker room. And everybody tells you you're gonna miss it. But it's hard until you’re removed from it that you really understand that there ain't anything else that replicates this.”
“I'm happy I don't have it, but I also, there was a productivity in my own head that I knew every day I'm a go in, I'm a do this, and I'm a do this, and I'm gonna lift, and I'm gonna watch tape, and then I'm gonna go out and dominate on game day, and I'm gonna do it with my boys,” Jason said.
While fans are awaiting what Travis will decide on his NFL future, we're sure his on-field success will translate off the field.
