At 36, Travis Kelce is facing the biggest decision of his life: retire from the NFL and walk off into the sunset with Taylor Swift, or stick around for one more attempt to win the Super Bowl.
Fans are waiting with bated breath for the official decision to come from the Kansas City Chiefs and Kelce, but the Daily Mail has spoken to a source close to the superstar tight end to find out how things are playing out behind the scenes.
Just days after the season finished, the Daily Mail has learned that all options are still on the table. But as it stands, it’s looking more likely than not that Kelce will return for the 2026 season.
‘If he had to make a decision today, at this very moment, he’d come back,’ the source told Daily Mail. ‘But he will not know until a few weeks from now what he wants to do.
‘It is still very fresh, and it hasn’t hit him officially on what he would like to do. He has to reason it with himself, talk to Taylor, his family. It is a process.’
It has become very clear that when he does eventually retire from playing, we will still be seeing a lot of Kelce on our TVs – becoming an NFL analyst is near the top of his options list.
Travis Kelce (pictured) is yet to make an announcement on his future in the NFL after missing the playoffs
Kelce (left) is weighing whether to walk into the sunset with fiancee Taylor Swift (right), or return for another year
Intriguingly, it seems that could come sooner rather than later, even if Kelce decides to play for another year.
‘There is interest from the networks to bring him in as a test trial during the playoffs to do some analyst work, and if that comes off the ground, that might influence his feelings either way on what he would like to do in the future,’ our source explained.
‘He took the end of this season in his stride and, if it is his last, he will be content with it.
‘But he also saw Philip Rivers come back and saw the fun he had with one more go around… so he would like to run it back one more time with a healthy Patrick Mahomes and a strong team to give it one more go to reach the Super Bowl.’
One person sure to have a say is Travis’ mom, Donna, 73.
‘She’s the type who gives her opinion even when no one is asking,’ a pal of Donna’s told the Mail.
‘But she does it in such a sweet way that you can’t help but like her. But her sons have a little less patience than everyone else about it.’
The famously enthusiastic NFL matriarch is absolutely over the moon about her son’s relationship with the global pop superstar.
But there is one subject in which she tries hard not to be overbearing.
‘When it comes to the wedding, the planning is all on Taylor and Travis, not on Donna. I think her head knows that, even when her heart wants to be more involved.’
Travis Kelce’s mom Donna (right) pictured with Taylor’s mom, Andrea Swift (center), and Randi Mahomes (left), mother of Travis’ teammate Patrick Mahomes
‘She told me she has to bite her tongue when it comes to the wedding plans because she has all sorts of ideas,’ says the friend.
‘Location, menu, the cake, the colors. She lives for that stuff. But she doesn’t want to be overbearing; she doesn’t want to overstep.
‘I don’t think there’s been any friction at all. On the contrary, it’s all good. But she just thinks about that wedding all the time.’
No matter what decision Travis comes to, career-wise, one thing is for certain: she will be supportive.
‘She talks about Travis like he’s God Almighty,’ the friend added.
While Donna has been vocal about being a grandmother, she’s not leaning on Travis and Taylor to start a family, since her older son Jason Kelce has four daughters with wife Kylie.
‘She’s got her hands full with the grandkids she’s got,’ says the pal. ‘She’ll be ok.’
‘And if she does get overbearing from time to time, it’s out of a place of love.’
‘Honestly, Donna is in a happy time. In the time that I’ve known her, she hasn’t said a bad word about Taylor.
‘She adores Taylor. And Taylor talks to her a lot. They actually get along really well.’
While Donna has been vocal about being a grandmother, she’s not leaning on Travis and Taylor to start a family, since her older son Jason Kelce has four daughters with wife Kylie.
‘She’s got her hands full with the grandkids she’s got,’ says the pal. ‘She’ll be ok.’
‘And if she does get overbearing from time to time, it’s out of a place of love.’
There are firm beliefs that Kelce (pictured) will hang up his cleats
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail also spoke to a body language expert for insight on how Kelce looked in the Las Vegas locker room after the Chiefs’ final game – a loss to the NFL-worst Raiders.
Darren Stanton, body language expert for online betting guide OLBG, disagrees with those who think Kelce might return to the field.
‘I think his retirement is imminent,’ Stanton told the Daily Mail.
In Kelce’s post-game interviews, Stanton believes he ‘is trying to leave it up in the air and leave it open ended and make it sound vague like he has not made a decision.’
But Stanton thinks it’s more or less an act.
‘My belief is that he has made a decision and I think he is probably going to announce his retirement, because when people make a statement about things there’s a fluency to it – there’s a congruency with body language and what we call statement analysis.’
Delving further into Kelce’s demeanor during the interview, Stanton continued, adding that ‘there are some really interesting shots of lip compression.
‘When people do that immediately after making a statement or declaration, it means they have absolutely no confidence in what they’ve just said – or they’ve said too much.
‘So it’s an unconscious gesture that people kind of make when they feel they’ve basically spilled the beans or said something they didn’t want to say, or they’ve gone down a road they didn’t want to go down.’
In the case of Kelce, Stanton said, ‘it’s almost a way of shutting himself up.’
Stanton also compares what people say to how they move, and with Kelce, he said this is important.
‘With Kelce, his non-verbal gestures are not congruent with what he is saying.’
Kelce (pictured) admitted that he will ‘get close to the family and figure’ out his future in the NFL
The Chiefs star is pictured with fiancee Taylor Swift at Arrowhead back in January 2025
For the first time since 2014, Andy Reid‘s Chiefs missed out on the playoffs and went out in embarrassing fashion after a 14-12 loss to the NFL’s worst team on Sunday.
The disappointing season has lead to question marks over the future of head coach Reid, tight end Kelce and a number of other players and staff in Kansas City.
Footage of Kelce returning to the locker room at the end of the game showed him looking especially deflated.
‘First things first, I just love this team,’ Kelce said in a candid response to the media. ‘I’m proud of the way we finished this, even though it ended the way it did.
‘Guys still showed up. Gave it their all and that’s all you can ask for, man. I’ve got so much love for this team, this organization and the people here, so I’ll spend some time with them, go through exit meetings tomorrow, get close to the family and figure things out.
Kelce (left) has spent his entire career with the Chiefs, winning three Super Bowls with the team
‘Who knows? Either it hits me quick or I’ve got to take some time. Last year was a little bit easier. I think I knew right away I wanted to give this one a shot. I don’t know. We’ll see.’
When asked if he felt he achieved what he wanted to when he decided to return this season, Kelce said, ‘Obviously we didn’t do as well as a team, but I feel like I came into the season prepared and ready to rock and roll with the right intentions.
‘The ball just didn’t go our way in a lot of those close games, unfortunately, and I think if I do choose to come back that’s something I’ve really got to focus on, making sure I’m available and ready for those moments.’
Without the injured Mahomes at quarterback on Sunday, the Chiefs failed to score a touchdown and put up just 168 yards of total offense. Instead, all 12 of their points came from the boot of kicker Harrison Butker.
But despite the loss in Sin City, it was still a good day for Kelce personally. He became just the third tight end in NFL history to reach 13,000 career receiving yards, finishing with 12 off three receptions and six targets.
It remains unclear whether his fiancée Swift attended the game, and she has been much more low key at stadiums this season overall.
There are also question marks over the future of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid (pictured)
She hasn’t been to a road game since the Chiefs won in the playoffs at the Buffalo Bills in January 2024, so it was suggested that if she made the trip for a dead rubber game in Las Vegas, it would surely only be because Kelce was retiring.
Kelce has spent his entire career with the Chiefs after being drafted in 2013, winning three Super Bowls and establishing himself as one of the best tight ends in the history of the game.
He has enjoyed an impressive individual season with 851 yards to his name and five touchdowns, even while the Chiefs have imploded.
But his contract with the team expires at the end of the season, and many believe he won’t be signing a new one.