Will Christmas mark Travis Kelce’s final game at Arrowhead? ‘Hope that’s not true’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Christmas night could serve as Travis Kelce’s final game at Arrowhead.
- Teammates and coaches praise Kelce’s leadership, community work and legacy.
- Kelce remains committed on field through season end despite team struggles.
With so much attention on the Kansas City Chiefs’ failures in 2025 — and their recent announcement of a 2031 move to the state of Kansas — what’s been somewhat lost in the shuffle is that Thursday night’s Christmas Day game could be tight end Travis Kelce’s final appearance at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
In recent weeks, the 36-year-old future Hall of Famer has declined to confirm if he will be hanging it up at the conclusion of the season, but there have been quiet indications all year that it’s likely the case.
With that, this Christmas game becomes more than a sour footnote in a lost season; it should serve as a final goodbye to one of the most important players in the stadium’s history.
“I don’t know if it (will be his last game) or not,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid — the only professional head coach Kelce has ever known — said Wednesday. “His numbers and personality and the person, I think, speak for themselves. Phenomenal person, great for the community, has been great for the community.”
For the second straight year, the club confirmed Kelce as its nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in early December, citing his work with Operation Breakthrough and his Eighty-Seven & Running Foundation — both of which aim at supporting disadvantaged youth.
“He’s everything you know you want from a player representing an organization,” Reid said.
On the field, no Chiefs player has caught more touchdowns from Patrick Mahomes than Kelce, who caught 59 of his franchise-leading 85 career touchdowns from the two-time MVP.
Asked Wednesday about Kelce’s potential final home game, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy almost refused to accept the idea.
“What Travis has done to this organization, to his teammates, to his coaches, to this city — it’s special, and you hate to even hear that,” Nagy said. “I hope like hell that’s not true. I just have so much respect. I’ve been fortunate enough, selfishly, to be with him for many years, and I’ve learned a lot from him.”
Kelce’s fellow All-Pro and three-time Super Bowl champion teammate, defensive tackle Chris Jones, shared Nagy’s sentiment.
“Oh man, it’s sad,” Jones said. “To be able to be here with my brother, man, and just be able to share the field with him. I hope it isn’t his last ride, but if it is, I tip my hat off to him. Hell of a career.”
When Kansas City acquired receiver Hollywood Brown in 2024, Brown said Kelce reached out to him right after the deal was announced. He sees the opportunity to play with him in what could be Kelce’s final Arrowhead outing as a blessing. “It means a lot,” Brown said. “Trav means a lot — you know, not only to this team but to the NFL. And just once you hang the cleats up and you look back, you want to make it enjoyable for him. Go out there, play hard for him — and just have fun really and keep making memories.”
When Mahomes went down with an ACL injury and with the postseason out of question, Kelce could have reasonably called it a career at that point, citing not wanting his final pass to come from the backup to the backup. Yet when he spoke at the podium last week, it quickly became obvious that was never an option.
“It’s just integrity, man. It’s integrity,” he said. “I signed up to be a Kansas City Chief and I love doing what I do, and I know I’ve been dreaming of being in these moments and playing for an NFL team since I was a kid. And I think getting back to that will give you more motivation than you could ever need to play this game. I think the integrity of being a man about your work and giving everybody your devoted attention and your sense of urgency to be at your best for them.
“That’s just how you need to go about work, whether or not you’re in the race or not. And I think that’s the mentality going into these last three (now two) games is we know it kind of ends after that New Year’s game – or the game right after New Year’s in January. But I’m going to make sure these guys know that I’m giving them everything I got.”
Playing with a second- and third-string QB, Kelce managed just 6 yards in the team’s most recent loss to the Tennessee Titans. But the reception gave him 12 straight seasons of 800 or more yards, a feat only matched by NFL legend Jerry Rice.
Kansas City’s failed season hasn’t detracted his work ethic.
“He’s out here every day at practice, leading, helping people out, fighting his ass off on game day,” Nagy said. “Has a great spirit with him on the sideline, and I think that should go to show a lot of guys on this team, these younger guys, why he’s playing this game and why he’s so special. I know, personally, I don’t ever want to take that for granted. “I know how much we love him as a city and as coaches, and I just hope that’s not true. I’d love to see him play more.”
And who knows? Maybe Nagy’s onto something. Maybe Thursday isn’t Kelce’s final game at Arrowhead.
But if it is — as seems increasingly likely — it shouldn’t be forgotten amid a season defined by disappointment.
This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 3:22 PM.
