Travis Kelce’s retirement decision could take a while, based on a new update.
The Athletic’s Nate Taylor and Cale Clinton originally reported a likely retirement deadline of March 14, one day before Kelce’s $11.5 million roster bonus goes into effect on March 15. That could still be the Kansas City Chiefs’ target date for a decision, but there’s another world where KC extends Kelce’s window into June.
According to ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano on February 19, “it’s entirely possible Kelce and the Chiefs could work something out, push back the roster bonus deadline, [and] adjust the contract to make him a post-June 1 cut if he retires.”
That would give Kelce another few months to make his decision, with the next soft deadline potentially being mandatory minicamp in June.
“Kelce’s contract is built very conveniently at this point,” Graziano noted within his update. “It allows him and the team to go in any number of different directions.”
The key — for the Chiefs — would be coming to an agreement with Kelce where he reworks his contract to push back that $11.5 million roster bonus. If that bonus goes into effect and Kelce retires, he would not only be paid not to play, but his 2025 dead cap number would also “rise from around $2.55 million to around $14 million” — per Graziano.
That’s why the roster bonus deadline is currently so important. Altering that deadline gives both parties ample time to find a proper resolution.
“One of the greatest players in franchise history isn’t likely to be shoved out the door over $11.5 million,” Graziano reminded within his blurb. Concluding later that Kelce’s contract “probably wouldn’t require any more adjustments” once the roster bonus date is pushed back.
How a Later Travis Kelce Retirement Deadline Impacts the Chiefs’ 2025 Offseason
Needless to say, the longer Kelce waits to make his decision, the more it impacts the Chiefs’ 2025 offseason.
Kansas City has already begun prepping for Kelce’s eventual departure, extending long-time understudy Noah Gray and drafting pass-catching tight end Jared Wiley. So, the Chiefs don’t necessarily need to find an immediate successor at tight end the moment Kelce retires.
Instead, they could easily enter the 2025 campaign with a TE core made up of Gray, Wiley, promising 2024 UDFA Baylor Cupp and one or two other veteran or rookie fliers.
Keep in mind, Kansas City will also get back star wide receiver Rashee Rice from injury in 2025 — although he could miss some time with a suspension — and Rice had already begun cutting into Kelce’s production last season before getting hurt.
Still, there are big financial decisions to be made, even if those decisions may not involve Kelce’s position this offseason.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach has several integral veterans hitting the open market in free agency and it would be nice to know if the team has to account for Kelce’s $19.8 million cap hit or not. After all, that extra space could be used to retain a player like Trey Smith, Nick Bolton, Justin Reid or Tershawn Wharton — among others.
On top of free agency, the NFL draft is in April. Would the Chiefs prioritize another tight end to pair with Gray and Wiley if they knew 100 percent that Kelce was done? How about another wide receiver with a similar skill set?
Clearly, there’s a lot to still be decided, and the Kelce verdict impacts it all.
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