The Kansas City Chiefs entered Super Bowl LIX with a shot at making history and becoming the first team ever to win three Super Bowls in a row. Yet, by the time the clock hit zero (and really, long before that), it was the Philadelphia Eagles celebrating the championship with a dominant 40-22 victory.
Now, the Chiefs have several questions to answer this offseason. Perhaps the biggest is what to do with one of the most popular players the franchise has ever seen: Travis Kelce. The 35-year-old tight end has been with the team since 2013 and is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in receptions (1,004) and receiving yards (12,151). He’s also made 10 straight Pro Bowls and has been named to eight All-Pro teams throughout his career.
And of course, he’s dating Taylor Swift, arguably the biggest superstar in the world. Their relationship has brought hundreds of thousands—and maybe even millions—of new fans to the Chiefs and the NFL.
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With a hefty payroll and several big-name players at the end of their contracts, it’s possible the Chiefs could cut Kelce to save money. ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz believes that’s the right decision, as he wrote in his bold offseason predictions for every NFL team. He said cutting Kelce “would be a very unpopular move” but would save the team over $17 million on the salary cap. The Chiefs would also owe only $2.5 million in dead money, which is relatively small among dead NFL contracts.
Despite his career accomplishments, Kelce will turn 36 years old during next NFL season. Tight ends typically don’t play into their late 30s, and Kelce’s production fell off last year. He had his fewest receiving yards since his rookie season (in which he played in only one game), had just three touchdowns, and finished 38th out of 49 qualifying tight ends in defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA).
From a purely on the field perspective, cutting Kelce makes sense. But the Chiefs would certainly lose some goodwill among both long-time fans and more recent ones they’ve gained through Swift. It may be worth looking for cost-cutting measures elsewhere, keeping Kelce, and letting him eventually retire as a Chief. That could be very soon, with the way the podcast with his brother Jason is going.
Read more: The Kansas City Chiefs Might Cut Travis Kelce To Save Money
