Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs future is uncertain (Image: Getty Images)

Travis Kelce confessed that the only other NFL team he would consider playing for, apart from the Kansas City Chiefs, would be a hypothetical London-based franchise. The 35-year-old did agree to a two-year extension at Arrowhead back in 2024 – but his immediate future with the Chiefs and with the sport as a whole is very much up in the air.

The Chiefs, led by the dynamic duo of Kelce and superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, marched to Super Bowl LIX – marking their fifth big-game appearance in six years – where they faced off against the high-flying Philadelphia Eagles offense in New Orleans on Sunday night.

Despite the support of his pop star girlfriend, Taylor Swift, Kelce and the Chiefs were left heartbroken as they suffered a 40-22 defeat, ending hopes for a legendary three-peat. With speculation mounting over whether Kelce will retire, the distraught tight end’s previous musings about playing for a different team became particularly poignant following this setback.

“I’m waiting for that team [a team based in London] to play for another team other than the Chiefs,” Kelce revealed last year on the New Heights podcast while contemplating the idea of an NFL expansion team setting up in Britain.

The NFL’s ties with London have been growing since the International Series kicked off in 2007, bringing annual regular-season games to the city. While the Jacksonville Jaguars made Wembley Stadium their home away from home between 2012 and 2020, there’s been consistent buzz about the potential for London to finally establish its own NFL franchise.

However, all the chatter about Kelce’s future is just speculation at this stage. After snippets of this admission went viral on X, Kelce himself chimed in with a tongue-in-cheek response: “Let’s be honest, I’d never leave the Chiefs… but playing in London sounds fun.”

With it now seeming clear that Kelce isn’t planning to leave for another team during free agency, fans are left wondering if he’ll sign a new contract with Kansas City or hang up his cleats for good, reports the Irish Star.

Retirement talk has swirled around Kelce (Image: AP)

Kelce’s previous statements have sent mixed signals. On his podcast in December, he reflected on an encounter with the Cleveland Browns: “I don’t know if it’s the last time I’ll ever play in Cleveland, but it kinda felt like I was just giving it one last hurrah before I’m done because I’ve only played there twice in 12 years.”

He even compared his career longevity with that of tight-end legend Tony Gonzalez during a moment of self-reflection, where he expressed doubt about matching Tony’s record: “Goddamn, [Tony Gonzalez] played 210 games? I don’t know if I can… that’s almost 40 more games. I don’t know if I can play 40 more!”

At 35, retirement talk isn’t just for the fans; Kelce’s current team-mates sense the end of an era might be near. Wide receiver Xavier Worthy openly acknowledged the looming possibility, confessing that Super Bowl LIX “might be my last time playing with” some fellow players and that it “might be their last game”.

Quarterback Mahomes echoed this sentiment: “I’ll let Travis make that decision on his own. He knows he has a lot of football left in him. You can see he always makes the plays at the biggest moments, but it’s if he wants to put in that grind. I know he still has a love for the game.”