The reverberations of Travis Kelce’s announcement that he’d be returning to the field next season were felt throughout Chiefs Kingdom.
News broke that Kelce, 35, was kicking the retirement can down the road on the Thursday, February 27, episode of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, when McAfee, 37, read a text live on-air from the Chiefs’ tight end.
“My dawg!!! I’m coming back for sure,” the text from Kelce read. “I’m gonna try to get to the best shape I’ve been this offseason and get back to the mountaintop. Got a real bad taste in my mouth with how I played in that last game and how I got the guys ready for battle. I can’t go out like that!!!!”
The announcement came less than three weeks after Kelce and the Chiefs were demolished 40-22 by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX on February 9.
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It didn’t take long for Kelce’s teammates and the Chiefs organization itself to react to news of the future Hall of Famers’s return.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes posted a GIF of security guard John Michael Wozniak shrugging after beating Michael Jordan in a quarter toss game, which was featured in the ESPN docuseries, The Last Dance, and immediately became an indelible meme.
The Chiefs confirmed Kelce’s return via Instagram, posting a picture of a smiling Kelce captioned: “YEAR 13.”
The “New Heights” podcast, which Kelce cohosts with his older brother Jason Kelce, commented on the Chiefs post, writing, “LETS GOOOO.”
Travis was drafted in the third round by the Chiefs in the 2013 NFL Draft and has gone on to become one of the best tight ends in league history.
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However, after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl defeat, Travis admitted he was uncertain if he would come back for another season.
“I think I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,” he said on the February 12 “New Heights” episode. “I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back, it’s gonna be something that it’s a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-assing it. I’m fully here for them and I think I could play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.”
Travis added, “I’ve been fortunate over the past five, six years — I’ve played more football than anybody. And it’s because the people that are in that building and the fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls, that means I’m playing an extra three games more than everybody else in the entire league. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body and it’s a lot of time spent in the building focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand … and that process can be grueling. It can weigh on you.”
