Travis Kelce predicted to be sacrificial lamb with Chiefs desperate for salary cap savings

The Kansas City Chiefs could make Travis Kelce’s retirement decision for him this offseason with the team potentially being in a precarious position moving forward.

The superstar tight end is set to take the next two weeks to decide whether he wants to retire and walk away from his incredible career, or run it back with the Chiefs for one final season. This comes off-the-back of Kelce having his worst statistical season of his career in 2024, where his age looked to have caught up with him for the first time.

Throughout his career, Kelce has been a dominant player at the tight end position – being one of the best receiving threats in the league for the NFL’s most explosive offense. But in 2024, he had failed to establish himself as the go-to target in an offense that really needed him to be.

And while he’ll undoubtedly be able to continue to play at a strong level should he return for another year, one scenario that has not truly been considered as Kansas City wanting to move on from him, but ESPN have suggested that this might be the case.

A report suggests that the Chiefs may consider cutting Kelce in a move that would free up $17 million for the team, with him set to make $19 million as the highest-paid tight end of all-time in 2025.

The Chiefs currently have just $7 million in effective salary cap space, and while they’ll have flexibility to open money up, they have some big free agents that they currently look destined to lose – including Trey Smith, Justin Reid and Nick Bolton

Cutting Kelce would hugely help the Chiefs retain at least two of those players, while they’d also need to replace their go-to receiving threat in the NFL Draft, in what looks to be the best tight end class in decades, including the likes of Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland and Elijah Arroyo.

Kelce had long been one of the more underpaid players in the NFL prior to the 2024 season, when he signed a two-year, $34 million deal to make him the highest-paid tight-end of all-time – a deal that no-one would argue that he was not deserving of. However, that contract now looks to have put the team in a bit of a rough spot.

The tight-end is almost certain to announce his decision on his future prior to free agency beginning on March 10.