NEWSLETTER
If Travis Kelce wants to rebuild the burned-down Lover house, he’ll have the money to do so.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end is signing a two-year extension with the team, keeping the two-time Super Bowl champion in lock-step with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid:
UPDATE: The MMQB’s Albert Breer reports it is a raise, not an extension. It includes $34.25 million going Kelce’s way as part of the deal, which includes a $4 million salary bump. What a way to celebrate High Infidelity Day, eh?
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport was the first to report on the deal, adding that it is a two-year pact. Plus, it will reportedly make him the NFL’s highest-paid tight end. Kelce, a nine-time Pro Bowler, four-time first-team All-Pro, and three-time Super Bowl champion, is coming off a 93-catch, 984-yard, 5-touchdown season with the Chiefs — all while dating the world’s most famous pop star at the moment. Getting new paper on top of all that is such a life win. Good for him.
Sidebar: It has been hilarious watching football writers, reporters, and content creators squeeze in half-baked Taylor Swift references into their work, such as the champagne problems reference in this Rap Sheet tweet. As a fan (of both Taylor and Travis), I chuckle when thinking about it. Anyway, let’s get back to football.
There are no contract extension details just yet. But if the new Travis Kelce deal means he is becoming the NFL’s highest-paid tight end, then I imagine the deal will have him leapfrog George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, and Darren Waller on an average per-year salary basis. But that is just a guess. Who’s to say Kelce’s extension won’t surpass Kittle’s $75 million total value from the 49ers or the $42.5 million in guarantees that Hockenson is getting from the Vikings. We’ll fill in these details when the time is right.
Seeing news of a Travis Kelce extension has me thinking about Cole Kmet
Whenever a notable player signs a contract, my brain immediately tries to explore what this means for the Chicago Bears. Sometimes, it results in a nothing-burger. No harm, no foul on those deals. But a Travis Kelce extension immediately put Bears tight end Cole Kmet on my brain.
Kmet is coming off a career-year with the Bears. The Chicagoland native put up career-bests in receptions (73) and receiving yards (719) in 2023. He also put up six touchdowns — and I feel as if it could’ve been more had he been healthier or had the team been playing for something more in the final two games of the season.
Nevertheless, seeing Kmet put up his best year as a pro just months after signing a sizable extension of his own was one of the most encouraging things to come from the 2023 season. Sometimes, players sign big-money contracts and their play takes a hit. That wasn’t the case for Cole Kmet, who signed a four-year pact worth up to $50 million in July 2023. The contract reportedly included $32.8 million in total guarantees and $20 million in cash up front. Those figures also put him among the top-10 highest-paid tight ends in terms of total value, per-year average, and guarantees.
If Kmet continues to flourish while catching passes from Caleb Williams, we’ll likely look back at the Kmet extension as a steal. Especially if other tight ends continue to cash in and reset the market. When they do, they should make sure to send Travis Kelce a “thank you” text for resetting the market.
