Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) reacts on the field after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off a terrible performance in the biggest game of the season and the biggest game in many of their players’ careers. Losing the Super Bowl takes an emotional toll on any team, even if they have played in most of the recent Super Bowls.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce recently spoke about how difficult the Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles has been for him to accept. The veteran tight end took full responsibility for his part in the embarrassing blowout loss.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, man,” Kelce said. “Every time we felt like we made a big play or we got something going, a penalty would happen or we’d be going backwards. Then, on top of that, just not executing the play calls. It wasn’t the play calls. It was the cumulative effort of everybody just not finding a way to get it done, man. To happen on the biggest stage sucks, but to have it happen for the second time of my career on the biggest stage, man, it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

After playing in five of the last six Super Bowls, Kelce has had a stellar career as one of the primary targets for quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Kelce has been an exceptional pass-catching option for Mahomes during their time together, and the veteran quarterback would more than likely prefer to have Kelce back.

Still, the National Football League is a business. While retirement is a massive decision for every player, the Chiefs were right to put a mid-March deadline on Kelce. Four weeks is plenty of time for Kelce and any other player to let the emotions of playing in the Super Bowl pass before making a defining decision.

Also, the deadline the Chiefs‘ front office gave to Kelce was one day before they had to pay him a large payment. The Chiefs giving Kelce a month was plenty of time, and knowing Kelce’s plan before paying him a large sum of money only makes sense from a business perspective. While Kelce has done plenty for the team, no player comes before the team, especially not an aging tight end to whom the team owes a pretty penny.

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