Chiefs’ Travis Kelce focused on making plays in Super Bowl and beyond, even as media empire awaits

Travis Kelce is the NFL’s all-time person successful playoff receptions, but his biggest interaction connected the AFC Championship Game didn’t amusement up successful the container score.

Down 22-21 aboriginal successful the 4th quarter, Kansas City Chiefs backmost Patrick Mahomes snapped the shot from the Buffalo Bills’ 10-yard line, faked a handoff and rolled to his right.

As the defence reacted, Mahomes got down Kelce and followed the large choky extremity toward the extremity line. Kelce exploded forward, laying a monolithic pb artifact connected Buffalo information Cole Bishop that pushed the second into the extremity zone.

That gave Mahomes capable country to people what proved to beryllium the Chiefs’ last touchdown successful their 32-29 victory.

Kelce finished with 2 receptions for 19 yards, but erstwhile again, the aboriginal Hall of Famer did precisely what was needed to get Kansas City backmost to the Super Bowl.

“Early connected successful my career, I truly wanted to beryllium known arsenic the top to ever bash it,” Kelce said Monday astatine the Super Bowl LIX kickoff successful New Orleans. “I deliberation that information has changed to conscionable make memories, make a lasting content connected the communities that I’m in, and alteration the crippled from wherever it was erstwhile I got in.”

He’s surely achieved each of the above.

Kelce, Mahomes and caput manager Andy Reid question their 4th title successful six years. Those 3 stay the halfway of a Chiefs instrumentality that, with a triumph implicit the Philadelphia Eagles connected Sunday, would go the archetypal squad successful NFL past to triumph 3 consecutive Super Bowls.

So often passim that dynasty, Kelce and his historical accumulation — from the choky extremity position, nary little — person been a separator for the Chiefs.

Kelce’s 174 playoff receptions are astir 2 twelve much than Jerry Rice’s 151, which fertile 2nd successful NFL history. His 9 playoff games with astatine slightest 100 receiving yards are besides the astir ever. Kelce’s 2,039 receiving yards successful the postseason rank second lone to Rice’s 2,245.

“I deliberation it’s conscionable the greats, man, they measurement up successful the playoffs,” Mahomes said past period of Kelce. “It’s conscionable higher intensity. The champion players and the champion leaders measurement up and marque the champion plays, and he’s done that.”

At property 35, Kelce nary longer delivers gaudy statistic connected a play ground similar helium did for truthful overmuch of his career. After 7 consecutive years with astatine slightest 1,000 receiving yards from 2016-22, Kelce dipped to 984 successful 2023 and to 823 this season. His 3 touchdowns successful 2024 marked a vocation low.

But Kelce continues to beryllium helium has plentifulness near travel January and February.

During past year’s title run, Kelce had astatine slightest 5 catches and astatine slightest 71 receiving yards successful each of the Chiefs’ 4 playoff wins. That included a nine-reception, 93-yard show successful Kansas City’s Super Bowl triumph implicit the San Francisco 49ers.

This year, Kelce opened the playoffs with 7 catches, 117 yards and a touchdown successful the Chiefs’ 23-14 triumph implicit the Houston Texans successful the divisional round.

“Where volition I beryllium successful 3 years? Hopefully inactive playing football,” Kelce said Monday. “I emotion doing this. I emotion coming into enactment each day. I consciousness similar I inactive person a batch of bully shot near successful me.”

Those comments came amid the now-annual speculation astir erstwhile Kelce volition retire. It’s a earthy question, considering Kelce’s age, high-profile narration with Taylor Swift and the seemingly endless media opportunities awaiting him.

But Kelce has excelled successful balancing his on-field expectations with his off-field interests, making him the preeminent illustration of a modern athlete.

His play “New Heights” amusement with member Jason Kelce is among the most-streamed podcasts successful the U.S. In August, it netted a declaration worthy much than $100 cardinal with Amazon.

Kelce has hosted “Saturday Night Live” and the crippled amusement “Are You Smarter than a Celebrity?” He’s confirmed for a cameo successful Netflix’s upcoming “Happy Gilmore 2” starring Adam Sandler.

And helium inactive recovered clip to be plentifulness of Swift’s Eras Tour concerts, including stops successful Sydney, Singapore, London and Paris. Swift, similarly, is simply a staple astatine Chiefs games.

“I amended clasp up my extremity of the bargain,” Kelce said. “If she’s retired present being the superstar she is, and ne'er taking nary for an answer, and ever moving her process off, I amended lucifer that energy.”

Energy shouldn’t beryllium a occupation for Kelce with different title connected the enactment – oregon for nevertheless overmuch longer helium decides to play.

“I cognize I’ve been mounting myself up for different opportunities successful my life,” Kelce said. “That’s ever been the goal, knowing that shot lone lasts for truthful long. You person to find a mode to get into different vocation and different profession. I’ve been doing that successful my offseasons, but for the astir part, I program connected being a Kansas City Chief and playing football.”