Are Chiefs forcing Travis Kelce to retire ? NFL analyst makes a startling remark on 14th march deadline

The staff for the Kansas City Chiefs are still coming to grips with the agonizing loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, which dashed all hopes for a truly historic three-peat. The franchise is now turning its sights on next season, 2025. With the legendary tight end Travis Kelce's career in the balance, ominous decisions are very much likely to interfere with reality.

At 35, Kelce has hinted at retirement all through the offseason after months of signing a contract that named him the highest-paid tight end in the league. Nothing less has been the stuff of magic as far as he is concerned; for all intents and purposes, it would appear that the team will have been preparing for life without him: reduced role under reports.

First Shots Fired in the Kelce-Chiefs "Row"

According to analyst Chad Withrow, has the Chiefs started to ever so gently nudge Kelce toward retirement after a dozen glorious seasons? With a sizeable chunk of the 2025 salary cap already tied to six key players, including Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, GM Brett Veach may soon find out Kelce may just be a casualty of the cap.

"The Chiefs have given Kelce a soft deadline of around March 14 to make a decision and inform the club. Why is March 14 important? Well, two days into NFL Free Agency, but also, his $11.5 million roster bonus actually hits the next day, on March 15. Now I see a story like this, and I think: Is it really wise to push Travis Kelce into a decision or say anything like 'deadline' to a guy like that?"

The Legacy of Kelce and Future Challenges

Travis Kelce is enshrined in NFL-lore. He is fifth all-time in tight ends for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and third for receptions. He is a three-time Super Bowl champion and has really been the fulcrum upon which the Chiefs would pivot since. However, the 2024 season would call that into question, with some pointing to distractions like his budding romance with pop star Taylor Swift or his famed podcast, New Heights.

For the Chiefs, with their own 2025 run at the Vince Lombardi Trophy, this puts the organization in a difficult position facing Kelce. Cap-strapped, the organization needs to retool the roster for the way forward. The choices are glaringly simple: either he retires or, if he sticks around, adopts a mentor role for the Chiefs looking forward.

What Next for the Chiefs?

So their offseason will be lined up for these challenges and more as the pathway back to contention. The club needs to fix its cap space, a possible roster to contest for Super Bowl LX, with or without Kelce.

For the time being, all the anticipation will be on Travis Kelce and his thoughts on his next chapter regarding his career. The road he chooses will reverberate down history as an endorsement of all his exploits with the Chiefs and the National Football League.