Travis Kelce is coming back. After taking a couple weeks to mull over his NFL future, Kelce is returning to the Kansas City Chiefs for at least one more season — meaning last month’s embarrassing Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles will not be the legendary tight end’s final NFL game after all.
Kelce’s decision has a lot to do with the support and the love from his girlfriend, the pop superstar Taylor Swift. With over 100 million records sold around the world, Swift is arguably the most popular and well-known woman on Earth. Her presence as Kelce’s Chiefs games has played a huge role in the NFL’s just-announced salary cap spike — and the “Cardigan” singer-songwriter is set to take in at least one more season of Chiefs games from Kelce’s suite at Arrowhead Stadium.
Lucky season number 13 for Kelce
It is well-known that Swift’s “favorite” number is 13, in reference to her birthdate of Dec. 13, 1989. This phenomenon played a role — however sizable — in Kelce’s choice to give the NFL one more go.
“He has mentioned that he isn’t very superstitious, but he has discussed with Taylor that this year would be his 13th year in the NFL, her favorite number,” an insider revealed to The Daily Mail. “They have talked about how cool it would be for him to play this year, and if it were to be his last, how poetic that would be for them.”
Kelce’s contract expires after the 2025 season, and it is far from certain whether he would extend it one more time. The 35-year-old endured the worst statistical season of his career in 2024, and the Philadelphia Eagles shut him down in Super Bowl LIX — during which he only caught four passes for 39 yards while expressing obvious frustration that quarterback Patrick Mahomes wasn’t being protected.
And with the number 13 holding so much meaning for Swift and her legions of fans, the insider speaking to The Daily Mail revealed that Kelce was determined to “snap out” of his post-Super Bowl malaise and focus on returning to the gridiron in pursuit of his fourth ring.
“There was maybe a split second after the Chiefs got blown out that it might be it for Travis and he mulled over retiring, but he snapped out of it relatively quick, and the Chiefs have known all along his intentions to return for at least one more year was going to happen,” the insider said.
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