KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce knowledgeable the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs he wished a pay elevate for the 2 seasons remaining on his contract however knew he was making the request at a serious 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, had been properly conscious.
“I am not a man that sits out,” Kelce mentioned on the “New Heights” podcast together 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 wish to get this performed for me realizing how a lot blood, sweat and tears that I put into this factor, I am extraordinarily grateful.”
The Chiefs this week gave Kelce the elevate, one which makes him the highest-paid NFL tight finish with a median wage of $17.125 million over the subsequent 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 performed, making me really feel appreciated and compensated the suitable 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 — Large Pink, I like you, massive 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 residence. For the previous [11] years I have been in a position to make this place precisely that, and I’ve liked each single second of it and I will love the subsequent two years enjoying right here in Kansas Metropolis and we’ll see what occurs after that.”
Kelce’s elevate follows the brand new contract the Chiefs gave to defensive deal with Chris Jones in March. The Chiefs additionally gave quarterback Patrick Mahomes a elevate final fall.
“We acquired the nucleus collectively and paid, child,” Kelce mentioned. “All people acquired paid this offseason. I find it irresistible.”
