Kansas City Chiefs star makes Travis Kelce retirement pact ahead of NFL season

Kansas City Chiefs star Chris Jones has shared his desire to retire at the same time as teammate Travis Kelce, hoping that Kelce will stay in the game for another “four or five” years.

The dynamic duo has been instrumental in the Chiefs’ dominance over the past five years, clinching three Super Bowl titles. As Arrowhead Stadium witnesses the rise of what could be a legendary dynasty, defensive titan Jones is keen to see their winning streak roll on.

Both stars shone during February’s Super Bowl LVIII, where the 2023 season culminated in a glorious victory for Kansas City against the San Francisco 49ers. With Kelce now aged 34, there’s been much talk about how many seasons he might have left before retirement.

Kelce’s off-field life, particularly his romance with pop icon Taylor Swift, has captured plenty of attention lately. Despite this, Kelce put pen to paper on a fresh two-year deal with the Chiefs in April, ensuring his allegiance to the franchise for a bit longer.

Touching on the topic of his teammate’s potential retirement, Jones candidly expressed: “Once you begin to think about things like that, you’re getting to feed the mind those types of thoughts. I don’t even want my mind to even go that far to the R word, He’s got like four or five more years and what is he talking about, right? ‘We can’t let TK go. It’s like we retire, we’ve got to retire together. Give me at least six, four years, then we’ll talk about it.”

Dismissing recent retirement rumours, the man himself asserted his passion for the sport ahead of the 2024 season asserting: “I really can’t put a timeframe on (retirement). I love coming to work every single day. Hopefully, that doesn’t happen anytime soon. Obviously, I know there’s opportunities outside of football for me. You have to keep in perspective that I’m still a little kid when I come into this building, man. I know I’m 34 years old, but I have a love to do this right here, in the middle of the heat in June. I love coming to work every single day.”

While being interviewed at the New Heights Podcast alongside brother Jason Kelce, the Chiefs icon confirmed possible plans of joining his sibling in broadcast upon retirement. When asked about buying a stake in the Phildelphia Eagles, Travis replied: “I would rather try and buy the Chiefs or be a minority stake owner in the Chiefs.”

“And also you can’t call the game or do anything like that, because of the whole Tom Brady thing. He wanted to have a minority stake in the [Las Vegas] Raiders and it messed with his TV deal,” he continued, before affirming with assurance: “I want to broadcast when I’m done playing. I want to be the talking head that calls the games.”