Before the start of the 2024 season, Kansas City Chiefs tight end signed an updated contract with the team that made him the highest-paid tight end in the league. Unfortunately, he did not play up to that contract this season, and one NFL analyst took notice.
This past season, the veteran tight end put up career-low numbers across nearly every major receiving category, with declines in yards per game, yards per reception, and yards after the catch. His average depth of target also dropped, and he finished the season with fewer touchdowns than in any other year since becoming a starter.
Kelce has been candid about that dip in production and didn’t shy away from addressing it while discussing his decision to return. to the Chiefs next season.
“I still feel like I can play at a high level and possibly at a higher level than I did last year,” Kelce said last month. “I don’t think it was my best outing, you know? I think I let my guys down in a lot more moments than I helped them, especially if you look at my track record and how I’ve been in years past. You know, I want to give it a good run. I got a bad taste in my mouth about how I ended the year and how well I was playing, and how accountable I was for the people around me.”
While Kelce is returning for another season with the Chiefs and he believes he is still capable of performing at a high level, the drop in production has been glaring, and it was enough for Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report to list Kelce as the “most overpaid” player on the team’s roster.
“The decline is glaring for a 35-year-old who has scored just eight touchdowns the last two years combined and remains the highest-paid tight end in the NFL with a $19.8 million cap hit for 2025,” Gagnon wrote for Bleacher Report last week.
At one point in his career, Kelce was the most dominant and consistent receiving tight end in the league. When he does decide to retire, he will undoubtedly be headed to the Hall of Fame. But last season, he was clearly not the same player he’s been throughout his career.
We’ll have to see whether or not he can bounce back this season and prove the doubters wrong.
