It’s not a surprise to anyone that Travis Kelce is back with the Kansas City Chiefs for the 2026 season, but the situation did get a bit dicey as NFL free agency kicked off.
A report mentioned Kelce was flirting with other teams, but ultimately he worked things out with his career-long NFL team. At 36 years old, Kelce is coming off of an individually very good season. He’s hoping to build on that in what could be his final season in the league.
The Chiefs will be needing Kelce to perform at a similar level in 2026, especially given how much they’re paying him. Kansas City and Kelce agreed to terms on a one-year contract that has a base of $12 million and could go up to $15 million with incentives. Until the contract becomes official, the exact cap space number won’t be known.
Chiefs will have to build out rest of roster through NFL Draft, after Travis Kelce and Kenneth Walker contracts
Given that it’s a one-year contract, it’s unlikely Kelce’s deal was very team-friendly – the front office wouldn’t be able to backload the money later in a contract’s cycle. That leaves the Chiefs with not a ton more cap space to work with for the rest of free agency.
The team was coming in to free agency with a little over $21 million in cap space. They’ve already re-signed Kelce and brought in running back Kenneth Walker on a three-year, $43 million deal. They’ve also signed defensive players Alohi Gilman and Khyiris Tonga to contracts paying out $8.25 million and $7 million per year, respectively.
While cap space seems to be running out rather quickly for Kansas City, they have already filled some of their major weaknesses. They have team captain Kelce back in the fold, and they can still improve the roster greatly with a few high-level picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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