After winning back-to-back Super Bowls, it's natural that many of the Kansas City Chiefs' key contributors would be asking for raises. Tight end Travis Kelce was certainly more than deserving to do so as he is one of only three players to lead a Super Bowl champion in receiving yards three times, joining Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin.
The Chiefs didn't have to give Kelce a raise since he was set to enter 2024 with two years left on his existing contract, but Kansas City did so anyways. They signed him to a redone deal on Monday that covers the next two seasons, and the contract is worth $34.25 million. The $17.125 million average per year moves him to the top of the tight end position in terms of contract average per year.
"I'm not a guy that sits out,'' Kelce said Wednesday on the "New Heights" podcast with his brother Jason, who retired after 13 NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. "I'm not a guy that holds out. I'm a guy that loves coming into the building and the Chiefs know that. So, for them to want to get this done for me knowing how much blood, sweat and tears that I put into this thing, I'm extremely grateful.'
"I'm so excited and so thankful to this organization for getting it done, making me feel appreciated and compensated the right way and on top of that I got to move the needle for the tight end room. It's everyone else's job to keep making that tight end AAV [average annual value] go up and up with every single contract that's better than mine in the future."
As for what bearing this contract may have on Kelce's retirement plans, that is still unclear as he ambiguously left the door open for all scenarios after the 2025 season.
"I'm so fricking thankful to [general manager] Brett Veach, [president] Mark Donovan, Coach [Andy] Reid -- Big Red, I love you, big guy -- and obviously [team owner] Clark Hunt. The Hunt family has been unbelievable to not only myself and this Kansas City community, but they've just been so generous since I've been here in making it feel like home. For the past [11] years I've been able to make this place exactly that and I've loved every single second of it and I'm going to love the next two years playing here in Kansas City and we'll see what happens after that.''
The Chiefs signed All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones to a new five-year, $158.75 million contract this offseason, making him the highest-paid interior defensive lineman in both average per year and total contract value in the NFL. Jones is the league's second-highest-paid defensive player trailing only San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa, the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and his five-year, $170 million contract. Three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes' 10-year, $450 million deal remains the NFL's largest ever in terms of total contract value.
"We got the nucleus together and paid, baby,'' Kelce said. "Everybody got paid this offseason. I love it.''
