Stephen A. Smith has a lot of ideas on what could come of Travis Kelce's future.
Kelce is currently in his 13th year in the NFL as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. In a conversation with People, the First Take host shared his thoughts on Kelce's performance this season.
“Those of us who know sports, watch sports and watch him all the time, we know he’s not what he used to be,” Smith explained in an interview published on Dec. 9. “He’s still great. He’s a three-time champion. He’s one of the best people you’ll ever meet. He’s a beautiful person. Really, really good to know him, proud of him, the whole bit.”
Smith continued, “But Father Time is undefeated and eventually it creeps up on us all. And no matter how fast he looks — there’s a boatload of people that are faster, that haven’t been through the surgeries, the pain and all the other things that he’s had to endure.”
Additionally, Smith shares that Kelce is impeccably talented outside of football, so whenever he makes that leap, he will be successful.
“I think that you could see the handwriting that’s on the wall,” Smith said. “The guy is so talented and there are so many other things that he could do outside of football that now would be the time for him to step away.”
Smith shared that his reltionship with Taylor Swift could also be a factor in why he might want to end his season sooner rather than later. Kelce proposed to Swift back in August after two years of dating.
“I will tell you that that’s what I think he’s going to do,” he added. “Obviously he has a beautiful lady in his life, where there’s a lot of good things for him to go home to. And so, because of that, I think the combination of all of those things.”
As for what industry Kelce could go into after football? Smith believes that his past experience with TV such as his role in Ryan Murphy's Grotesquire and his film debut in Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore 2 over the summer.
“He would instantly make it in television. Instantly,” Smith said. “He’ll have a job waiting for him the second he’s finished. The second he’s finished, he’ll have a job waiting for him because that’s just what he brings to the table.”
Smith wanted to point out that he is just “speculating” about what could be in Kelce's future and no announcement on a retirement has been made.
There were retirement rumors swirling at the end of last season but the Chiefs' tight end cleared that up when he put rumors to bed when he announced that he would be returning. Smith claims he saw that coming and knew he would be back.
“And so obviously I knew he wasn’t going to retire last year because they got beat so badly in the Super Bowl,” he said. “I could not imagine him ending his career on that note. You know? Not like that. Not like that.”
Kelce has not made a retirement announcement, but fans will get to see him play and fight alongside the Chiefs for a shot at the playoffs. The Chiefs' next game is against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 17 at 1 pm EST.
