The Kansas City Chiefs weren’t finished when they signed star quarterback Patrick Mahomes for a record-breaking addition or when they put together an expensive package to keep the Pro Bowl defensive against Chris Jones going.
Now they’re peeling out more money to keep Travis Kelce in the fold.
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The Chiefs and the two-time all-pro agreed on Thursday a four-year extension of $ 57.25 million that will keep him at the Super Bowl champions through 2025, a person familiar with the contract told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as the deal had not been announced.
The deal came the same day that the San Francisco 49ers and their all-pro end, George Kittle, agreed to a five-year extension of $ 75 million, a person familiar with the contract told AP. Kittle and Kelce, who stood on the sidelines during the Super Bowl in February, long ago established themselves as the game’s clear top 2 tight ends.
The Chiefs rallied in the second half to win their first championship in 50 years. And when the Chiefs spent the off-season securing their core players by granting Mahomes a 10-year extension that could be worth half a billion dollars and Jones a four-year deal worth $ 85 million, Kelce was confident that it would be just that first was of what could be many super bowls.
“The guys who come into this office know what this team is capable of,” he said when the chiefs reported to the training camp that is taking place at their exercise facility because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It shows what we did last year and who we all have back, which means we have almost every single leader we’ve had in that locker room.”
Kelce quickly became a leader after a stellar college career marked by some problems outside of the field that caused his stock draft to collapse. The Chiefs picked him in the third round in 2013 and after missing most of his rookie season with a knee injury, he immediately switched to the line-up and became a match-up nightmare for opposing defenders.
The affable and outspoken Kelce has been voted five consecutive Pro Bowls, and has put together four consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards. He also stood out under the brightest lights, 10 passes for 134 yards and three TDs in a playoff win over Houston, three more passes in an AFC championship win over Tennessee, and six passes for 43 yards and a touchdown in helping the Chiefs down a 31-20 win over the 49ers.
“He is sporty. I think he’s instinctive. His routes don’t look like the routes of others, ”said Titans coach Mike Vrabel. “I mean the way is to get open to whatever depth the quarterback wants. He can freeze people and then burst across the field. He has a large catch radius. I mean, it’s tall, it’s long, it’s athletic, it’s tough, and it’s a tough challenge. “
