Travis Kelce has been brought crashing back down to earth following his wedding to Taylor Swift with some new NFL rankings offering a brutal dose of reality.
Every offseason the NFL asks its stars to vote for the league’s top 100 players, with the results announced in the weeks leading up to training camp.
On Monday morning, Kelce was unveiled as the 79th best player in the NFL in a ruthless show of honesty from his fellow NFL stars.
Just 12 months ago, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was ranked at No. 37. That means he’s plummeted a shocking 42 places in just a year.
It comes after Kelce and the Chiefs endured a miserable season in 2025 that saw them miss out on the playoffs entirely, having reached four of the previous five Super Bowls.
Despite the Chiefs’ woes, Kelce looked to be in his best shape in years and wound up catching 76 passes for 851 yards and five touchdowns.
NFL stars have voted Travis Kelce as the 79th best player in the league, a drop of 42 spots
Kelce celebrated his wedding to Taylor Swift in front of 1,000 guests at MSG earlier in July
Whether he can sustain that pace yet again in the upcoming season is a big question mark. Kelce turns 37 in October.
Kelce and the Chiefs made official their deal to bring the four-time All-Pro tight end back for a 14th season in March.
He had decided to shove off retirement for another year rather than end a superlative career that includes three Super Bowl rings with a 6-11 record last season.
The one-year deal for Kelce is worth $12million with incentives that could push the total to $15m.
‘You always need to take a step back, breathe and let the emotions of the season settle down and see where the body is,’ Kelce said during an appearance on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ after the deal was announced.
‘Man, I’m still in love with this game. I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out and just playing the game.’
Kelce had indicated as far back as the NFL scouting combine that he wanted to play for Kansas City if he returned.
‘My best opportunity was playing for the Chiefs yet again and running this thing back,’ Kelce said. ‘There’s a lot of pieces in Kansas City that I just absolutely love and I can´t wait to get back in the building with them.’
Despite the Chiefs’ woes, Kelce caught 76 passes for 851 yards and five touchdowns last year
Kelce also said his wife, pop superstar Taylor Swift, played a role in his decision to return. The couple tied the knot at a star-studded and lavish ceremony at Madison Square Garden on July 3.
‘We share the same love for what we do, and fortunately we’ve had this desire since we were kids in our selective professions,’ Kelce said.
‘It’s amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies and, on top of that, still seeing her have that love and joy in what she does.
‘Of course that’s motivating. That’s motivating for anybody to see, knowing that I’m going through something where I’m trying to figure out exactly what the future holds for me.’
