The announcement of the Kansas City Chiefs extending the contract of Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce all but ensured that he would finish his career with the franchise. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach decided to get the deal done shortly after the NFL draft and at the start of the second phase of OTAs.
News of Kelce’s deal broke early Monday afternoon, and Veach held a press conference to address the extension and other matters.
“Congratulations to Travis Kelce on his contract adjustment, [he] just signed it here a few minutes ago,” Veach said. “[It is] hard to put into words what Travis means to this organization in this city, and he was certainly a priority to justice contract for us, and it was important for Clark [Hunt]. It is very fitting that Travis is now the highest-paid tight end. Again, [it is] just a really special day and moment for this organization to once again recognize arguably one of the greatest tight ends ever to do it.”
The timing of the announcement was shocking as, typically, teams are negotiating with their newly drafted rookies, but Veach explained the specialty of Kelce to the organization.
“Travis is an outlier here. I think we all know that. When you talk about Travis and his career and his legacy here. This is something we just wanted to knock right out of the park early on.”
Kelce turns 35 in October, and it’s uncommon for most position players, aside from quarterbacks or kickers, to be effective late in their careers; Veach believes the Pro Bowl tight end is a unicorn.
“Well, I mean, now and then, you have one of these guys that are better outliers,” Veach explained. “Certainly, Travis is one of those players. It’s funny; it’s not even me yet. Today, we had a chance to get out there and phase two. And guys were out there running around. And Travis was the first guy in line, and I mean, he looked like he was 28 years old. I mean, the odds of someone playing this far into the 30s are very low, but it does happen and happens with just unicorns in the profession.
“Travis is one of those, and we’ll certainly celebrate this with him, and hopefully, we can ride this thing even longer. We’ll have to wait and see, but he’s shown no signs of slowing down, and everyone you know notices the kind of postseason he had. He just found that extra gear and the special ones. The special players are always able to find that extra gear, and again, if anybody can do it, Travis can.”
Kelce is entering season twelve of his career with Kansas City and should be assured that he will remain there as long as he chooses to keep playing.