The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping Travis Kelce, their star tight end, decides to remain with the team for the 2025 season, which could be the last in his illustrious career.

If Kelce chooses to retire, the Chiefs, as they head into an intriguing offseason, want to know of his decision around March 14, according to a team source. Based on the deadline, the Chiefs are going to give Kelce a month to decide his future.

Kelce’s contract, which runs through next season, includes an $11.5 million roster bonus that is due March 15, according to Over The Cap. The NFL’s free agency period begins March 10.

Kelce, 35, has had one of the best careers among receiving tight ends in NFL history. He is third all-time in career receptions (1,004) and receiving yards (12,151) and fifth all-time in career receiving touchdowns (77).

He has also been an essential piece of the Chiefs’ recent dynasty run. A favorite target of Patrick Mahomes, the two have connected on 17 postseason touchdowns, most by any duo in NFL playoff history, and produced five Super Bowl berths since 2019 with three championships. Kelce also recently passed Jerry Rice for most career Super Bowl receptions.

Those historic runs have taken a toll on Kelce. In the Mahomes era alone, Kelce has made 21 playoff starts since 2018 — more than a full season’s worth of additional games — while missing only five regular-season starts over that span. He has also taken on massive workloads, leading the Chiefs in regular-season targets eight of the last nine years, with at least 100 every season since 2015. Kelce leads all active players in regular-season receptions, with 229 more ahead of the next active tight end, Zach Ertz (also a member of Kelce’s 2013 draft class).

“That process can be grueling,” Kelce said on a recent episode of his “New Heights” podcast, discussing the wear a Super Bowl run puts on an older player. “It can weigh on you. It can make you better and it could drive you crazy at the same time. Right now, it’s one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year, and I think that it happens as you tail off toward the back nine of your career, as (Scott Van Pelt) would say.”

Kelce finished Super Bowl LIX with four receptions on six targets for 39 yards, all of which came in the second half. It was the first time in Kelce’s career that he was held without a reception in the first half of a playoff game. Despite the team-leading 133 targets in the 2024 regular season, Kelce’s 823 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns were both career lows for the 12-year veteran.

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(Photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)