Travis Kelce says he's underpaid but wants to win with Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce continues to bare his soul after his second Super Bowl win.
The Kansas City Chiefs star tight end spoke with Vanity Fair about his whirlwind offseason so far.
Multiple Saturday Night Live actors raved about his performance on the show while he explained how he's preparing for life after football in the entertainment industry.
Kelce got emotional when he looked back to being suspended from Cincinnati while in college for using marijuana. His then-head coach Butch Jones said he's a proud dad watching Kelce's career accomplishments in the NFL.
"He caught me at a moment in my life where I was down in the dumps. I didn’t really think much of myself," Kelce said. "When I got hit with what I was going through,” he said. “I found out how many people were in my corner."
Kelce's father Ed also spoke about how dumb he thought the suspension was.
Also in the Vanity Fair piece, Kelce spoke about how former Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill's trade to the Miami Dolphins affected him personally.
"My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am,” Kelce told 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?'"
Kelce has earned almost $65 million over his 10-year career, but he's only the fifth highest-paid tight end in the league this season. He said watching Hill go get his four-year, $120 million slightly compelled him to want to try it himself.
But winning trumps all, and Kelce said he plans to play out the rest of his contract with the Chiefs, which ends after the 2025 season.
"I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning," Kelce said. "I love the situation I’m in."
"You see how much more money you could be making and, yeah, it hits you in the gut a little bit. It makes you think you’re being taken advantage of," Kelce added.
"I don’t know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth," he said. "But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day."
The rest of the piece goes along for Kelce's ride to a sneaker shop where he spends almost $4,000 on five pairs of sneakers and about his vacation rental spots where he goes in the offseason. He was in Malibu at the time of the interview.
The next time local media will likely hear from Kelce again is at Chiefs training camp, which begins for veterans on July 21.