Travis Kelce’s football season ended on Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Las Vegas Raiders. Travis’s season has not gone the way he’d hoped, and at the start of the season, there was so much talk about how this would likely be his last. But don’t count out ol’ Killa Trav just yet. He’s still not ready to make a decision about his retirement plans. In fact, he seems to be thinking about whether he could push his body to hold up for one more season.

Travis Kelce isn’t ready to reveal his endgame just yet. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 36, danced around the retirement rumors on the Wednesday, Jan. 7, episode of his and his brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast.

After the Chief’s loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Jan. 4, the NFL star’s season is now over.

“It’s a tough way to go out, especially with the amount of success and the standard that you hold,” Travis admitted of the loss and the disappointing season.

As for his next steps, the professional athlete plans to enjoy his time off and see how his body recovers from the grueling experience of playing in the NFL.

“I think, yeah, just being a regular human for a couple weeks, maybe a month or so, trying to figure out what I’m gonna do next in terms of my future in football,” Travis said when asked about his next steps. “And I think, you know, I’ve talked to a few people in the facility already, you know, having the exit meetings and everything, and, they know where I stand at least right now.”

Noting that he still has “a lot of love for the game,” Travis admitted that the retirement decision is “a tough thing to navigate.”

“At the same time, if my body can heal up and rest up and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18, 20, 21-week run, I think, I would do it in a heartbeat.”

But the response wasn’t convincing Travis’ older brother, Jason, who said, “I’m confused. So you’re not already coming back?” citing Travis’ teammate Chris Jones who said Travis would be returning next season.

“That’s why we love Chris. He’s very optimistic. He’s very optimistic,” Travis replied. But Travis, who announced his engagement to Taylor Swift in August, reiterated that he plans to “take some time” to “get away from the game” and spend “some time with family” before making his decision.

“I’m just trying to figure it all out myself, and I’ll do that with the family and friends,” Travis added.

[From People]

This is what so many elite athletes cling to towards the end of their careers: “If my body can heal up and rest up and I can feel confident that I can go out there and give it another 18, 20, 21-week run, I think, I would do it in a heartbeat.” For tennis players, the math is not “can I make it one more season/year,” but rather “can I make it through one or two months to play my favorite tournaments one last time?” Football is different, I know. I find it interesting that Travis is already asking himself those questions, like if he puts in the work in the off-season and he comes into the 2026-27 season feeling fresh and healthy, maybe that would be the way to go out. I wonder what Taylor Swift really thinks. She often talks about how alike they are with their focus on their careers, so I’m sure she would support him if he wants to try to go one more year. But I also wonder if she’s ready for him to be done with football.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.