ClutchPoints
The Kansas City Chiefs are waiting on tight end Travis Kelce to make his retirement decision this offseason, and his contract is built conveniently for both sides, but there is a bit of a soft deadline on March 15 to come to a decision, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.
“Kelce is scheduled to earn $17 million this season. Of that, $4.5 million is salary, $11.5 million is a roster bonus due on the third day of the league year and the remaining $1 million is a roster bonus due on August 1,” Graziano wrote. “So if he’s still on the roster on March 15 (third day of the league year) and decides to retire after that, the Chiefs would have already paid him $11.5 million to not play, and his 2025 dead cap number would rise from around $2.55 million to around $14 million.”
Graziano also reported that while the Chiefs would like an answer from Kelce by March 15, they are not going to force the issue over the $11.5 million, due to the fact that he is one of the great players in franchise history. The two sides could work something out, like push back the roster bonus deadline, or adjust the contract to make him a post-June 1 cut if he retires. If Kelce decides to play for the Chiefs in 2025, the contract likely will not require any adjustments, according to Graziano.
Kelce saw his production dip in 2024, as the Chiefs struggled at times offensively. Kelce had 823 receiving yards with three touchdowns in 2024, going for 8.5 yards per reception, the lowest in his career and the first time that number was below 10 for him, according to Pro Football Reference. Kelce’s yards per reception was at 10.6 in 2023, which was a career low at the time as well, and the first time it dipped under 12, so it has been a two-year decline for him.
Obviously, Kelce is still a valuable weapon for the Chiefs on offense. It remains to be seen if he will play in 2025, but we might find out by the middle of March, because there is some incentive to do so.
The post NFL rumors: Chiefs’ ‘soft deadline’ for Travis Kelce retirement decision appeared first on ClutchPoints.
