Chiefs extend Kelce, make him highest paid tight end
Tyler Brown
The Chiefs have had quite the offseason in extending their own amid a dynasty. After making Patrick Mahomes the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history by re-working his deal last September, the Chiefs have gone on to extend Chris Jones, Andy Reid, Brett Veach and now Travis Kelce.
The terms are $34.3 million over two years that his longtime agent, Mike Simon negotiated,
which now makes him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL, which was long overdue. New York Giants’ tight end Darren Waller, Minnesota Vikings’ T.J. Hockenson and San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle all were being paid more than Kelce on an annual per year basis. That is despite Kelce putting up seven straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2016-2022, which shattered Greg Olson’s three straight seasons. Waller is getting paid $17 million per year and Kelce was set for just north of $14 million, for what it is worth. Kelce now tops that by what appears to be $150,000 per year.
This should all but put to bed the retirement talk that has lingered over Chiefs’ Kingdom, even if his off-the-field ventures are lucrative. The new deal will still have Kelce in a Chiefs uniform through the 2025 season. It should be noted that this is essentially a revamped deal and he will now earn a raise this year and in 2025. While banged up last season, Kelce proved he is far from finished with the NFL.
For the first time since the 2015 season, Kelce did not put up over 1,000 yards. That, however, comes with the huge caveat that he finished with 984 and elected to rest during week 18 against the Chargers even after getting the green light from Reid. Kelce’s mature decision proved to be incredibly fruitful as the Chiefs went on to win their third Super Bowl in five years. Kelce had a dominant playoff run that ended with a win over the 49ers in Super Bowl 58.
Kelce went on to put up 355 yards and three touchdowns across those four games. There was not a single game he had less than 70 yards and in the AFC Championship game against the Ravens, he posted 116 yards and a touchdown. In the divisional round against the Buffalo Bills he racked up 75 yards and two touchdowns. Those three touchdowns were more than half of what he had all season. He also had a 93-yard performance in the Super Bowl.
Keeping Kelce fresh should go a long way moving forward and the Chiefs have helped accomplish just that by adding two wide receivers this offseason in Hollywood Brown and first-round pick Xavier Worthy. Kelce was relied upon far too often last year while they had a depleted wide receiver core.
In the tight end room, they also added Irv Smith Jr. early in free agency and selected highly productive TCU tight end, Jared Wiley with their third pick. Wiley will be no Kelce but their size and athletic profile are eerily similar. With Smith Jr. only signed for one year and fourth-year tight end Noah Gray set to be a free agent at season end, it was a prudent move.
As far as legacy goes, if Kelce plays all four of these seasons, he can put a huge dent in catching some of the game's greatest of all time. In many people’s eyes, he may already be the greatest, but the greats such as Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates had an incredibly long career, while Kelce has been more efficient. Kelce got a late jump to his career after coming out as a 23-year-old and then tearing his ACL before his rookie season started.
Kelce is currently 3,799 yards behind Gonzalez for most yards of all time and is currently fourth on that list. He is only 513 behind Gates and 1,718 behind Jason Witten, so he will almost certainly be second on this list by the end of his contract. It would take quite the run to pass Gonzalez, who has also played 111 more games than Kelce.
As far as touchdowns go, Kelce is currently tied for fifth on that list. He is 42 behind Gates and 37 behind Gonzalez, so that is probably unrealistic. With Kelce at 74, he is 15 away from Jimmy Graham and 18 away from Rob Gronkowski. Even if he is 75 percent of what he has been, he will reach a large portion of these numbers and will be more than valuable to the Chiefs, even at the price of the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.
*This story has been updated as some contract terms have been reported. Ultimately, the next two years have been largely guaranteed.
