Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs moved to 3-0 on the 2026 NFL season after taking down Malik Willis and the Miami Dolphins 24-10 in Week 3. Now, the Chiefs will look to continue their undefeated season in Week 4, hitting the road to face Kirk Cousins and the undefeated Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC West showdown.
Kelce has become one of the greatest tight ends the NFL has ever seen during his 14 year career. Ahead of Week 4, the former Cincinnati Bearcats star had totaled 1,094 catches for, 13,233 yards and 80 touchdowns, winning three Super Bowls in five appearances along the way. But with Kelce, 36, entering the tail end of his career, it may be time to start thinking about life after football.
And Kelce could end up following in his brother and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce’s shoes. \
Denny Medley-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Following his retirement in 2024, Jason was quick to land a deal with ESPN, becoming an analsyt for the pregmae show “Monday Night Countdown,” which proceeds “Monday Night Football.” ESPN’s play-by-play voice, Joe Buck, recently signed a six-year, $108 million contract extension through 2032.
But Buck’s broadcast partner, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, who also won three Super Bowls, has entered the final year of his five-year, $90 million deal with ESPN. The contract is set to expire after the 2026 NFL season, once he and Buck call Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium in February.
While ESPN could extend Aikman’s deal at any point during the season, the network appears likely to wait until after the season, as it plans to do with “College GameDay” analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who recently signed an extension with the NFL on Amazon Prime.
Although Aikman is expected to return, The Athletic reported that Kelce could peak ESPN’s interest if the Chiefs star decides to retire, potentially replacing Aikman with Kelce on “Monday Night Football” in the future.
“Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce would peak networks’ interest if he were to retire from playing,” The Athletic wrote. “Buck attended Kelce and Taylor Swift’s wedding this summer.”
Even Aikman knows Kelce has an interest in building his TV career after football. The tight end has already begun transitioning into acting, landing a hosting role on Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?, along with acting gigs in the TV series Grotesquerie and the Adam Sandler sequel Happy Gilmore 2.
“It sounds like he wants to do television,” Aikman said. “I can’t imagine that he won’t. And I think there’s going to be a line-up of suitors for his talents, and then it’s just a matter of what exactly does he want that to look like.”
Kelce and the Chiefs will take on the Raiders in Week 4 at 4:25 p.m. ET.
