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The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t preparing for the Super Bowl in early February for the first time in four years, which has sent quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce down two diverging and unfamiliar paths.

Mahomes is aggressively rehabilitating an ACL he tore in Week 15, while Kelce is enjoying an offseason over which his potential retirement following 13 incredibly successful NFL seasons continues to loom.

Both men take to the golf course in their spare time, though hitting the links isn’t currently in the cards for Mahomes given his injury. Kelce, however, played in the WM Phoenix Open on Wednesday, February 4 and showed off his multi-sport skills.

“TRAVIS KELCE WITH AN ABSOLUTE DART ON THE 16TH 🎯🔥,” the Golf Channel captioned a video of Kelce’s tee shot on the par 3 hole, which it posted to social media. “The 3x Super Bowl champ sticks it to within a few feet and wins the gold WM chain!”

Mahomes, presumably watching from home, celebrated Kelce with a brief and emphatic message of his own.

“Let’s go!!!!! @tkelce 🎯🎯🎯,” Mahomes posted to X.

Chiefs Need Travis Kelce Retirement Decision With Next Month

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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

Kelce has offered no timeline on a retirement decision, though it would make sense for him to decide before the new league year begins in mid-March and teams are allowed to make trades and sign free agents six weeks ahead of the draft in late April.

Kansas City posted a 6-11 record in 2025 and missed the playoffs for the first time following a 10-year run of postseason play, which included seven AFC Championship Game appearances, five trips to the Super Bowl and three rings. The Chiefs currently face the largest salary cap deficit in the NFL, residing $54.7 million in the red four days before Super Bowl Sunday.

The team owns the No. 9 overall pick and will also select a player at No. 40, so there is a reasonable chance the Chiefs could surround Kelce and Mahomes with two starting-caliber players who can make immediate impacts in their rookie campaigns.

Travis Kelce’s Motivations to Play, Leave Game Remain Unclear

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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and musician Taylor Swift.

But it is also unclear precisely what will factor heaviest into Kelce’s decision. If going out on top, or at least somewhere close to it, matters to Kelce, then he is more likely to return.

But the Chiefs face some tough personnel realities that will render another Super Bowl trip potentially harder to come by. Mahomes’ health will also factor into Kansas City’s championship viability, and he and Kelce will both be one year older in 2026.

Kelce can also now make more money off the field than on it, given his highly successful “New Heights” podcast and widespread speculation that lucrative media jobs of his choice will await him upon his decision to leave the game.

Furthermore, Kelce will soon marry global music star Taylor Swift, and the significant developments in his personal life may impact his decision to either retire or return to the gridiron for at least one more season.