Travis Kelce ascends all-time NFL receptions list while weighing exit

While the whirlwind of chatter around Travis Kelce on Christmas Day centered on whether he planned to retire at the end of the season, the 11-time Pro Bowl tight end quietly moved up to No. 9 on the NFL’s all-time wide receiver list.

Kelce’s fifth and final catch in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos was the 1,077th, pushing him past Anquan Boldin. With two more receptions in the Chiefs’ regular season finale, Kelce will surpass Terrell Owens for 8th overall.

Statistics were apparently the last thing on Kelce’s mind as he walked off the field at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, perhaps for the last time. The Chiefs will finish the season on the road next week against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kelce’s later years are inextricably linked to his fiancée Taylor Swift. Was this the last time the music megastar visited the Kelce family’s luxury suite to watch her lover entertain? (If so, let it be on the record that Swift wore a red bomber jacket from the Frankie Shop.)

Kelce, 36, admitted he felt reflective afterward.

“A lot of emotions,” he told reporters. “Everyone in the world is watching you. You get to go out there with the kids on prime-time television. The kids get a chance to taste what life is like in the NFL.”

For Kelce, life in the NFL has been rewarding. He won three Super Bowls and is almost certain to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And he played his entire 13-year career with the Chiefs.

So while he sorted through his emotions and memories after the game, he previously basked in the adulation.

“You only have a few where you can stand there and enjoy having 70,000 Chiefs fans cheering you on,” he explained. “I always enjoy this moment.

“We feel the generations of happiness and love [the fans] to have. It’s a beautiful thing, man.

For a decade, Kelce was a regional sports figure, revered in the Midwest as a hard-nosed, consistent producer on the field. His profile began to change ahead of the 2022 season when he and his brother Jason launched an immediately popular podcast, “New Heights.”

Kelce and Swift began dating before the 2023 season, and a year later, the Kelce brothers signed a three-year, $100 million podcast deal with Amazon’s Wondery. Then in August, Kelce and Swift announced their engagement.

Tight ends, with their three-point stances and proximity to tackles and guards, do not traditionally seek or attract attention. But Kelce is now a national celebrity in his own right.

Don’t let that cloud his numbers. Kelce has 73 catches for 839 yards in 2025, placing him alongside Jerry Rice as the only player in NFL history to eclipse the 800 receiving yard mark in 12 consecutive seasons. Kelce is also the only tight end to surpass 90 catches for seven straight seasons, a streak that will end this year.

Rice, the former San Francisco 49ers great, is the NFL’s all-time leading receiver with 1,549 catches. Larry Fitzgerald is next with 1,432. Next are the only tight ends with more catches than Kelce: Tony Gonzalez (1,325) and Jason Witten (1,228).

If Kelce decided to play another season, he would almost certainly climb to No. 5, passing Marvin Harrison (1,102), Cris Carter (1,101) and Tim Brown (1,094) in addition to Owens.

Kelce may have already decided if it’s the right time to retire. He’s just not ready to say it, indicating he will let the Chiefs know shortly after the season ends.

“I will let that be a decision I make with my family, friends and the Chiefs organization when the time comes,” he said.