Travis Kelce Was Dealing With 'Pretty Big Illness' Before Kansas City Chiefs' Embarrassing Super Bowl 2025 Loss — Team's General Manager Declares 'Never Gonna Make Excuses'
Kelce caught only four passes at the Super Bowl.
Feb. 26 2025, Published 2:45 p.m. ET
It seems Travis Kelce's poor performance during the Super Bowl had less to him being love sick for Taylor Swift and more to actually being sick.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was "battling a big illness" before the big game.
Kelce has been coy about his future since the game.
Kelce managed just four catches for 39 yards on six targets during a Super Bowl blowout at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles.
While the NFL superstar gave no excuse for his poor performance, Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach told the NFL: The Insiders podcast the 35-year-old was pretty sick that Sunday.
Veach confessed: "We’re never gonna make excuses and talk about it, but I mean, yeah, he was battling with a pretty big illness there before the Super Bowl."
The Eagles went on to defeat the Chiefs 40-22, and Veach was quick to point out that Kelce's performance dud likely didn't end up mattering much: "The way the Eagles played, it wouldn’t have made a difference."
At 35, Kelce is clearly on the back end of his career, and fans are wondering what his future holds – especially as his relationship with Swift grows stronger each day.
Addressing retirement rumors, Veach said the Chiefs are operating under the assumption Kelce isn't going anywhere yet: "There’s been a lot of the timeline and deadlines, and that’s something as an organization we haven’t discussed, (but) we anticipate Travis being back."
The NFL executive said the team is excited to have him back, and hopes the feeling is reciprocated: "I think that Travis is excited to come back, and he finds a way to stay in shape and produce at a level only he can.
"He makes us better when he’s in our locker room and on the field."
The star has taken quite a beating over the past 12 years.
But retirement might be looking especially enticing right now as he and sweetheart Swift decide on their lives together.
Kelce has spent the past 12 years getting pummeled by 300-pound opponents, leading to a string of injuries.
Now, with the season freshly over, Kelce has revealed he's starting to think about his next chapter.
Speaking on the New Heights podcast he shares with his brother Jason, himself a former NFL star, Kelce confessed: "I'm gonna take some time to figure it out.
"I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back, it's gonna be a wholehearted decision, and I'm not half-a--ing it, and I'm fully here for them."
Taylor Swift is reportedly ready to marry Kelce and start a family as soon as possible.
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Kelce has always been lauded for giving a lot to the game and is already recognized as one of the best tight ends of all time, and a sure-fire hall of famer.
But his success has come at a price in terms of his personal health. And more success only means more games in the grueling NFL season.
He explained: "'The fact that we keep going to these AFC Championships and these Super Bowls, that means I'm playing an extra three games than everybody else in the entire league.
"That's a lot of wear and tear on your body, and it's a lot of time spent in the building, focusing on your craft, focusing on the task at hand, every challenge that you set up for yourself. That process can be grueling, it can weigh on you.
"It can make you better [but] it can drive you crazy at the same time, and right now it's one of those things where it was kind of driving me crazy this year."
