Travis Kelce wasn’t going to hold out, ‘grateful’ to Chiefs for deal

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce knowledgeable the Kansas City Chiefs he wished a pay increase for the 2 seasons remaining on his contract however knew he was making the request at a significant negotiating drawback.

Kelce wasn’t going to carry out to get it. He wasn’t even going to threaten a holdout, and the Chiefs, after 11 seasons with Kelce, have been nicely conscious.

“I am not a man that sits out,” Kelce mentioned on the “New Heights” podcast along with his brother, Jason. “I am not a man that holds out. I am a man that loves coming into the constructing, and the Chiefs know that. So, for them to need to get this carried out for me understanding how a lot blood, sweat and tears that I put into this factor, I am extraordinarily grateful.”

The Chiefs this week gave Kelce the increase, one which makes him the highest-paid NFL tight finish with a mean wage of $17.125 million over the following two seasons. Kelce had been scheduled to make $12 million subsequent season and $16.25 million in 2025.

“I am so excited and so grateful to this group for getting it carried out, making me really feel appreciated and compensated the best approach, and on prime of that I acquired to maneuver the needle for the tight finish room,” he mentioned. “It is everybody else’s job to maintain making that tight finish AAV [average annual value] go up and up with each single contract that is higher than mine sooner or later.

“I am so fricking grateful to [general manager] Brett Veach, [president] Mark Donovan, Coach [Andy] Reid — Massive Pink, I like you, large man — and clearly [team owner] Clark Hunt. The Hunt household has been unbelievable to not solely myself and this Kansas Metropolis neighborhood, however they’ve simply been so beneficiant since I have been right here in making it really feel like house. For the previous [11] years I have been capable of make this place precisely that, and I’ve liked each single second of it and I’ll love the following two years enjoying right here in Kansas Metropolis and we’ll see what occurs after that.”

Kelce’s increase follows the brand new contract the Chiefs gave to defensive deal with Chris Jones in March. The Chiefs additionally gave quarterback Patrick Mahomes a increase final fall.

“We acquired the nucleus collectively and paid, child,” Kelce mentioned. “Everyone acquired paid this offseason. I adore it.”