Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has a contract with an average payout of $14.3 million per year. That puts one of the best pass catchers in the NFL at roughly half of the top of the receiver market.
Kelce is aware of how underpaid he is. But he’s not inclined to do anything about it.
“My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am,” Kelce told Tom Kludt of Vanity Fair. “Any time I talk about wanting more money, they’re just like, ‘Why don’t you go to the Chiefs and ask them?’”
But Kelce has decided to be very careful about what he asks for, given what happened with former teammate Tyreek Hill — who wanted more and got more and did not win the Super Bowl to cap the 2022 season, unlike Kelce.
“When I saw Tyreek go and get 30 [million] a year, in the back of my head, I was like, man, that’s two to three times what I’m making right now,” Kelce said. “I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in.”
For Kelce, the winning is opening all sorts of doors to other ways to make even more money. The full article makes it clear that Kelce is planning a post-football career that will be impactful and lucrative.
“I don’t know if what I want to do has really been done yet,” Kelce said regarding his future plans, which seem to include broadcasting and/or podcasting and/or acting.
For now, Kelce does his best to accept the fact that he’s underpaid. He knows the Chiefs are gladly accepting that reality.
“You see how much more money you could be making and, yeah, it hits you in the gut a little bit,” Kelce said. “It makes you think you’re being taken advantage of. I don’t know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth. But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day.”
The article doesn’t mention it, but the fact that quarterback Patrick Mahomes is just as underpaid as Kelce (if not more) likely contributes to Kelce’s decision to not rock the boat. And, again, the team benefits from that. Whenever any player is happily (or reluctantly) taking less than he’s truly worth, it becomes easier not only to put other good players on the team — but also to squeeze other players on the team to take less, too.
Winning is what holds it all together. Winning is the thing that allows great players to tolerate that periodic feeling that they’re being taken advantage of.
Putting it another way, the Chiefs want Kelce to keep fighting for his right to party. If nothing else, it keeps Kelce from realizing he also should be fighting for his right to proper compensation.
