Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce is widely considered as the best tight end in the league. Despite this, he is making a relatively modest $11.25 million in annual salary, leading many people to consider him “underpaid.”
Kelce is aware of this label and knows that he could get significantly more money on the open market compared to what the Chiefs are paying him. After all, his former teammate Tyreek Hill left Kansas City last year and immediately became the highest-paid player in his position. But it appears that Kelce has other priorities.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Kelce said that he doesn’t mind being underpaid because he loves winning and loves his current situation.
“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.”
Kelce made eight consecutive Pro Bowls and had more than 80 catches and 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past seven seasons. He is currently the third highest-paid TE in the league, behind San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle and the New York Giants’ Darren Waller. But there is also one big distinction between Kelce and Kittle, and Waller. Kelce won two Super Bowl rings, while Kittle and Waller have none.
