After the Kansas City Chiefs missed the 2025 playoffs, analysts ranked 36-year-old Travis Kelce among the NFL’s top 10 tight ends for this year because he remains productive and understands the game well.

Sports Illustrated ranked Kelce ninth among NFL tight ends, behind Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, and George Kittle, who got first, second, and third spots.

“One of the greatest tight ends of all time, Travis Kelce, could be entering the final year of his career in 2026,” Sports Illustrated’s Eva Geitheim wrote on Thursday. “Though Kelce is past his incredible prime, he remains a productive player for a team lacking in top-end pass catchers.”

Kelce recorded 76 receptions and five touchdowns in 2025. His 851 yards for 2025 ranked him fourth among all NFL tight ends. Even at 36, Kelce can find open space in the defense and turn catches into big plays.

“If this year is truly it for the recently wed Kelce, he will look to close his career on a brighter note than the end of last season, when the Chiefs lost their final six games as Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL,” Geitheim of  Sports Illustrated wrote on Thursday.

Kelce will return for his 14th season on a one-year, $12 million contract that can go up to three years. Kelce has the most catches, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns in Chiefs history. Since Tyreek Hill left in 2022, Kelce has recorded 22.7% of the team's receiving yards.

Kelce remains important to the Chiefs’ comeback hopes, but a former NFL player believes he could find a new career after he retires.

Nate Burleson sees a bright TV future for Kelce

CBS analyst Nate Burleson believes Travis Kelce can build a strong television career after football. He shared that view during an interview on Thursday with Baker Machado at Front Office Sports headquarters.

“Trav is the guy that they’re gonna put on camera, and he’s gonna do amazing,” Burleson predicted on  Front Office Sports. “He’s articulate, he got the swag, he knows the game, and he’s a master of being in front of a microphone, given his podcast and the success.”

Burleson has spent years on CBS Sports’ NFL coverage after an 11-year playing career. He sees Kelce as a natural fit because the Chiefs star has built a large audience through his podcast and has shown that he can explain the game while keeping people entertained.

Burleson believes networks would need to offer Kelce a major contract because he has earned plenty during his NFL career and would not need to accept a small deal.

He even joked that he would take a pay cut if it helped CBS bring Kelce onto The NFL Today.

If any network can make that move, Kelce will have a path forward after one more season. With another NFL chapter getting closer, could his voice become as valuable on television as his play has been in Kansas City? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Written by

Shreya Mishra

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote