‘I wouldn’t do it’: ESPN insider’s cold Travis Kelce verdict leaves Super Bowl champion stunned

Travis Kelce’s next contract was always going to be emotional in Kansas City. Mike Tannenbaum just ripped the emotion out of it on national TV.On a recent episode of ESPN’s “Get Up,” the former NFL executive said the Kansas City Chiefs should not bring Kelce back in 2026, even as the future Hall of Famer weighs his decision and the team is reported to be in active talks about a new deal.

Mike Tannenbaum’s blunt call on Travis Kelce’s future in Kansas City

Asked whether the Chiefs should keep Kelce, Tannenbaum did not hedge. “I wouldn’t do it,” he said on ESPN. “When you’re in the front office, and you’re a head coach, you have to make the honest and sober observation that you want to pay a player for what they’re going to do, not what they’ve done. He is slowing down.”He pushed it further, telling Kansas City to move off sentiment and into succession planning. “If I’m Kansas City, go get the next guy,” Tannenbaum said.

“Honor Kelce for what he’s done but go and get the next young tight end. Then go and tackle these other needs in offensive tackle, running back and receiver.”

Sitting across from him, Super Bowl champion Jason McCourty looked stunned on set as the clip started to move around social media. The reaction matched how a lot of people around the league heard it: cold front-office logic aimed at a player who has been the centerpiece of the Chiefs’ dynasty.

The context is real, though. Kelce is 36 and coming off a two-year, $34.25 million deal that briefly made him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. The Chiefs just went 6-11 in 2025, their first losing season since 2012, missed the playoffs, and watched Patrick Mahomes go down with a late-season knee injury. They also have to find answers at wide receiver and running back while managing a tight cap.

Jason McCourty, fans and the numbers push back on that take

Tannenbaum’s argument leans on age and projection.

The numbers tell a more complicated story.Kelce finished 2025 with 76 catches for 851 yards and five touchdowns. That is a drop from his run of seven straight 1,000-yard seasons, but it still put him near the top of the position, including top six in receptions and top four in receiving yards among tight ends. He also led the Chiefs in targets, catches and receiving yards, tying Hollywood Brown and Rashee Rice for the team lead in touchdown catches.That is why his stance has not landed well with everyone. Fans pushed back, and current Chiefs star Chris Jones publicly opposed the idea of simply moving on from Kelce as if he were just another aging role player. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero has also reported that Kansas City and Kelce are in contract discussions and that “it seems like this is trending toward Travis coming back and playing for Kansas City, but nothing is done until it’s done.

”There is also precedent for a veteran tight end playing productive football on a smaller deal. Tony Gonzalez signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons at 37, a number that would sit closer to top-of-market money once you adjust for today’s cap. Current projections put Kelce’s next deal in the middle ground between legacy pay and a hometown discount, with one market estimate around $10.8 million for a one-year contract.Tannenbaum has been clear: he wants the Chiefs to turn that money and draft capital into a younger tight end, pointing to names like Trey McBride, Brock Bowers and Sam LaPorta as the archetype, and to prospects such as Kenyon Sadiq, Max Klare and Michael Trigg in the upcoming class. The Chiefs, meanwhile, are trying to balance their respect for a franchise legend with the hard cap decisions that come after a 6-11 season.Kelce’s decision and the front office’s response will answer a simple question that Tannenbaum has forced into the open: in 2026, is Travis Kelce still the engine of Kansas City’s passing game, or is he the bridge to whoever comes next?