Chiefs star Travis Kelce knows he’s underpaid but simply says, ‘I love winning’

In a time when the NFL’s best pass-catchers are being paid more than ever, Travis Kelce seems OK with his salary.

The Kansas City Chiefs star tight end was blunt when discussing his contract in a recent profile in Vanity Fair. Kelce is in the second year of a four-year, $57.25 million deal that included $22.75 million in guaranteed money when he signed it in 2020. He said he has been pressed by people close to him to ask for a raise, but he’s fine with his current deal due to the Chiefs’ success.

“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?’”

Under his current contract, Kelce has an average annual salary of roughly $14.3 million. This upcoming season, his $11.25 million base salary will rank as the 54th-highest in the NFL, according to Vanity Fair.

Those numbers pale in comparison to the contract that former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill got from the Miami Dolphins when he signed an extension following his trade there in 2022. Hill received a four-year, $120 million deal with $72.2 million guaranteed that made him the highest-paid receiver in NFL history. And that deal came during an offseason in which seven other receivers signed contracts with at least $23.5 million in annual salary.

Kelce admitted that he was taken aback by the contract Hill received from the Dolphins as the two put up comparable numbers during their time together with the Chiefs (Kelce actually finished with more receptions in three of the four seasons that the duo played with Patrick Mahomes). But he reminds himself of the situation that he’s in — the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls and have made it to the AFC Championship Game in each of the past five seasons.

“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.”

Of course, Kelce is a tight end and that position has traditionally been paid less than many other positions. For instance, the franchise tag number for tight ends this offseason (which is determined by the average yearly salary of the five highest-paid players at each position) was $11.345 million, the third-lowest among all positions.

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Still, Kelce has the third-highest average annual value among all tight ends and his $14.3 annual salary would rank 21st among all receivers. Those numbers are seemingly low considering Kelce has finished in the top 10 in receptions and receiving yards in four of the past five seasons and in the top 10 in receiving touchdowns in five of the past six seasons.

In addition, Kelce arguably just had the best season of his 10-year career. He had a career-high 110 receptions for 1,338 yards and a career-best 12 receiving touchdowns.

As the 33-year-old star is likely in the later stages of his prime, he admitted that he probably could make more money if he asked, but he also doesn’t want to trade the situation he’s in right now in order to earn some more cash.

“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 said.

“I don’t know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth,” Kelce added. “But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day.”

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