Travis Kelce is opening up about his decision to return to the NFL after the Kansas City Chiefs’ devastating 22-40 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles at the Super Bowl LIX.
During a new episode of his “New Heights” podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, the tight end, 35, revealed what contributed to his decision to return for a 13th season.
“The biggest thing is that I fucking love playing the game of football,” he said. “I love playing. I still feel like I can play it at a high level and possibly at a higher level than I did last year…I let my guys down in a lot more moments than I helped them, especially if you look at my track record and how I’ve been in years past.”
Kelce continued, “I want to give it a good run. I got a bad taste in my mouth on how I ended last year, and how well I was playing and how accountable I was to the people around me.”
The “Grotesquerie” star went on to say that he sees Kansas City as “home” and isn’t ready to “leave that life yet.”
“I love so many people in Kansas City, both in that facility, in the community, and it’s home for me now. I don’t want to leave that life yet. I put in a lot of hard work and I put in a lot of focus into being the best that I can for K.C.,” he added.
Kelce continued, “Last year it didn’t end well for us. I just feel like there’s a responsibility in me to play out the contract that I initially signed, to give Kansas City and the Chiefs organization everything that I’ve got, and that’s what I’m going to do, man.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Jason, a former Eagle, asked Travis whether the Chiefs’ Super Bowl loss last month played a role in his decision.
“It was probably the biggest factor,” Kelce confessed, before admitting he “wasn’t at my best” during the match.
Kelce also called losing to the Eagles an “all-time low” for him.
“I just don’t know what it was during that game, man, I wasn’t at my best,” he said. “The more that I see clips or watch the film and put myself back into those moments, man, I’m just like what the fuck?”
Kelce then teased that he’ll be sticking around to play for the Chiefs “for at least one more year.”
“I can’t say whether or not this is going to be the last year because I still love a lot of what I do for the city of Kansas City and the Chiefs organization,” he said. “I know I’ve got one [more year] on my contract, and I’m gonna give you everything I got, baby.”
Early last month, Kelce addressed whether he would return to the league or not after his team failed to win a third consecutive championship.
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“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking every can I can down the road — and not making any crazy decisions,” Kelce said during a Feb. 12 episode of “New Heights.” “Right now, the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates.”
Watch the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast below.