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Jason Kelce Opens Up About Travis Kelce’s ‘Peter Pan’ Energy Amid Retirement Rumors

Kristen Wong

Cleveland natives and NFL players Travis, right, and Jason Kelce celebrate after the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics during the second half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Cleveland natives and NFL players Travis, right, and Jason Kelce celebrate after the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics during the second half at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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One of the biggest swirling storylines of the NFL offseason involves Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is currently mulling his future after his team’s disappointing Super Bowl LIX defeat.

Kelce, who is owed $11.5 million if he’s on the Chiefs roster on March 15, capped off his 12th season in the league and could make a decision on his playing career soon. The Chiefs reportedly set a deadline date “around March 14” for the 35-year-old to inform the team of his decision, which would coincide with the start of the official new league year.

As the Chiefs tight end continues to weigh his options, his older brother Jason spoke glowingly of Travis and elaborated on one of his hallmark personality traits that have endeared the veteran to his fans and his teammates. 

“One of the things I love so much about Travis is that he never grew up,” Jason said on the Fitz & Whit podcast (around the 41:30 mark). “He’s like Peter Pan and the Lost Boys.

“Sometimes you get people in your life that maybe get that out of you and that’s a good thing. … Trav, he is growing up. He’s still, though, got that youthful enthusiasm. I think he’ll kind of always have that, it’s just part of his personality. It’s one of the reasons every teammate has loved playing with him, anybody that’s ever met Trav, you can’t help but just love the guy. He’s a free spirit in the best possible way.”

Earlier this month, Kelce talked about the possibility of retirement on an episode of New Heights which aired shortly after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl blowout loss.

“I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,” he said. “And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-assing it, and I’m fully here for them.”

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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