Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce will be in the NFL for over a decade when the 2023 NFL season kicks off this September.
The former third-round draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati has built an impressive career for himself in Kansas City over the years, almost surely cementing himself as a Pro Football Hall of Famer. With his recent success off the field, many are wondering when Kelce might make the decision to hang up his cleats for a career outside of football. From the “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason Kelce to other recent endeavors like hosting “Saturday Night Live” back in March, it’s clear he has great things in the future off of the gridiron.
Speaking to reporters following Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp practice, Kelce confirmed that he’s not entertaining thoughts of retirement anytime soon.
“(Im playing until) the wheels fall off, baby,” Kelce exclaimed. “I love this game, man. I know I’m going to miss it when I’m done playing. I hear you on that. That’s a business decision that I’m sure I’ll have to make at some point in my life. But right now, I’m in this building wanting to win football games.”
What exactly keeps Kelce motivated to continue playing and winning football games, though? He says that he draws inspiration from his teammates in the tight end room and otherwise.
“(They) keep me young, man. I’ll tell you what, it is fun seeing Jody Fortson fly around, seeing Noah (Gray) fly around. Matt Bushman coming in and making plays every single day,” Kelce explained. “You know, that gets you excited about the group. That alone kind of builds the motivation up. It builds the beast and gets you to want to fly around too and have some fun catching the ball and getting open. Without a doubt, I think it fuels me, but I think this entire team fuels each other. We don’t got a lot of drains out here, we’re the City of Fountains.”
With seven consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, Kelce hasn’t shown any signs of the wheels falling off. In fact, it seems he has stumbled upon the fountain of youth within the City of Fountains.
