Travis Kelce cried giving pre-Super Bowl speech to Chiefs teammates as retirement questions loom

Travis Kelce couldn’t hold back his tears while delivering a pre-Super Bowl speech to his Kansas City Chiefs teammates Sunday, as he considers the possibility of retirement.

On Wednesday’s episode of “Up & Adams,” sports reporter James Palmer discussed the tight end’s emotional behavior in the locker room at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl.

“Travis cried, but he cried last year,” Palmer said, explaining that a few NFL insiders present told him about Kelce’s emotional state.

“My gut tells me this is it,” a source told Palmer about the three-time Super Bowl champ’s football career.

“But he hasn’t said anything in either direction to anybody here and we know he loves coming to work, we know he’s really enjoyed being here in the building.”

The TV personality claimed that Kelce, 35, “practices as hard as anybody,” saying, “he doesn’t feel like if he doesn’t practice hard … that he’s not giving everything to the team and everything to himself.”

Palmer, however, emphasized that “people in the building believe he’s lost his step,” but “still believe he can completely play.”

“I think there’s just a lot on his shoulders. What’s next?” he questioned. “Do you keep playing because it’s what you know? This is a massive decision and it’s a massive decision for the future of the organization.”

Reps for Kelce weren’t immediately available for comment.

On Sunday, Kelce was photographed stoically walking off the field after the Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 22-40.

The NFL pro addressed his team’s loss on his “New Heights” podcast Wednesday, admitting he was “kicking himself” for the ways he fell short.

“Just wasn’t our day. Couldn’t find a lick of momentum. I’m kicking myself for some of the tiny, tiny decisions I made on the field,” he said, explaining he wishes he “had made better decisions early on” to help quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

During the same episode, Kelce got candid about retirement plans, saying, “I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year.”

“Right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. … I’m not making any crazy decisions, but right now, the biggest thing is just being there for my teammates and being there for my coaches, understanding that there’s a lot goes into this thing.”

He continued, “I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back then it’s going to be something that is a wholehearted decision; I’m not half-assing it.”

An insider told Page Six that Kelce has been leaning on his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, following the devastating loss.

The 14-time Grammy winner “knows how hard” her beau “worked all season and was thrilled to be at the Super Bowl to show her support.”

A licensed therapist also told us that Kelce’s setback would only “make them stronger” as a couple.