Chiefs TE Travis Kelce gets candid on retirement plans post Super Bowl three-peat attempt
Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs will enter the 2024 NFL season with a shot at history, to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. The opportunity to three-peat is not something that comes every day and Kelce knows it. He has contemplated retirement in the past. But put the speculations to bed this offseason.
Kelce was asked if there were any plans of retirement post the 2024 NFL season, after attempting a Super Bowl three-peat. The Chiefs tight end cited Julian Edelman, who was a guest on his podcast last year, to explain his answer.
The former New England Patriots wide receiver had said that he had to hang up the cleats when he could not practice and couldn't work on his craft. Edelman pointed at Patriots' practice habits for his retirement.
But Kelce doesn't feel that way. The Chiefs TE said that he enjoys coming to work and doesn't see himself retiring anytime soon.
"I'm just having so much fun," Kelce said. "I'm just so appreciative and so fortunate that I've been able to come into year 12 and still have this this energy and this love and the ability to go out there and get to work."
Travis Kelce added that the retirement decision did not cross his mind after winning his third Super Bowl, earlier this year, in February.
"I think the excitement of the challenge of this year and being able to maybe do it a third time in a row, I think that alone was all I needed to come back. I mean, that was instant thought. So it was never even a really a chance I wasn't coming back this year."
Chiefs TE Travis Kelce understands the opportunity to Super Bowl three-peat
Travis Kelce put the retirement speculations to bed when he agreed on a two-year, $34.3 million contract extension this offseason. The deal made him the highest paid tight end in the NFL. Speaking on the same show, Kelce said that he was excited just by the rare opportunity to have a shot at three-peat.
"These are, these are some of the challenges in football that really... I think only five or six teams have had the chance to do. That's a very rare achievement, to even get the opportunity, to have that challenge. And I just think that it's so unique. And I'm just excited to be able to lace 'em up still and play at a high level."
There have been seven NFL teams who've attempted a Super Bowl three-peat and have failed in the process. The Green Bay Packers, the Miami Dolphins, the Pittsburgh Steelers (twice), the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots have all missed the opportunity in the past.
The Kansas City Chiefs will being their Super Bowl three-peat quest against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday, 5 Sept, at Arrowhead.