Tight end Travis Kelce outperformed most wide receivers in 2022, finishing with the third-most receptions (110) in the NFL. However, thanks to a four-year extension he signed with the Chiefs in 2020, he’s making an average of $14.3MM a year…a far cry from what some of the league’s top receivers are earning.
In a long ranging interview with Tom Kludt of Vanity Fair, Kelce acknowledged that he’s underpaid when you consider his production. The veteran joked that his managers and agents often remind him of that fact, encouraging him to seek more money from the Chiefs. However, Kelce also recognizes that his affordable deal plays a part in the Chiefs’ ability to remain competitive, and it sounds like he values the championships more than the extra money he could get on the open market.
“When I saw Tyreek [Hill] go and get 30 [million] a year, in the back of my head, I was like, man, that’s two to three times what I’m making right now,” Kelce said. “I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in.
“You see how much more money you could be making and, yeah, it hits you in the gut a little bit. It makes you think you’re being taken advantage of. I don’t know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth. But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day.”
Kelce has been one of the league’s most productive offensive players over the past seven years, averaging an incredible 96 receptions, 1,230 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns per season. However, his career earnings sit below $65MM; there are 13 current wide receivers earning more than that on their current contracts alone.
Kelce doesn’t even lead his own position from an AAV perspective. George Kittle set the market right before Kelce signed his most recent extension, and Darren Waller has since reset the position when he inked a new deal with the Raiders in 2022.
Fortunately for the Chiefs, it doesn’t sound like Kelce is overly concerned about his contract status, and the tight end told Kludt that he intends to see out his current contract. The four-year, $57MM extension that the tight end signed in 2022 is set to expire at the end of the 2025 campaign.
Dude speaks like a moron
Agreed. Couldn’t even watch the golf match this evening because of him.
Yup, tries way too hard and ends up sounding like a freakin’ clown.
Stay mad
Hill is 4 years younger and still considered in his prime. As good as Kelce is, he’s not going to repeat the year he had and his stats are going to decline every year moving forward. Getting old sucks
He’s trying to come across as unselfish and it failed, miserably.
Like you, I’m having trouble finding sympathy for a guy who has to press the gas on a Porsche instead of a Ferrari.
I didn’t see him seeking sympathy rather stating facts. Fact: teams pay you for what you’ve done, not your eventual decline. He would be making close to double if he chose to value himself over a winning team / culture. He’s part of the team that helped develop the winning culture.
People would dump on him if he sat to get paid and dump on him for explaining why he isn’t sitting expecting a raise. He’s playing the contract he signed. It’s kind of like signing a contract is supposed to mean something to a man.
I get it though, there’s an expectation that he should have sat like the rest of the “underpaid” skill position players expecting to get paid like a FA entering their prime. Teams are treating them like the veteran skill players they are and would rather pay a low round rookie on a smaller contract or two or three players to make up the production void.
He’s not trying to come off as selfless, he’s just pointing out that he values winning and being comfortable in KC over the potential more money he could make.
….are you kidding, this guy is a Rockstar and him and Mahomes not breaking the bank are the some of the reasons Chiefs rule, and are not going to be the Rams
….are you kidding, this guy is a Rockstar and him and Mahomes not breaking the bank
are the some of the reasons Chiefs rule, and are not going to be the Rams
Are you kidding, this guy is a rockstar and another reason the Chiefs will continue dominating and not turn into another version of the Rams, he makes good money, he wants the team to stay competitive
I think you have to get permission from Robert DeNiro to use the same line 3 times.
No, they’re not kidding. Are you kidding….kidding…kidding…