“We have created this machine that, when you do it the right way, it works, and you get to win football games because of it. And I think that alone gives you the excitement that what we’re doing here is special,” Travis Kelce told reporters last week. His notion on the Chiefs’ winning culture as a machine was clear, as that’s the mantra that helps the tight end to keep going, even amid retirement rumors. Now, the Kansas City Chiefs star is heading into his 13th NFL season. And though he’s still a nightmare for defenses, time waits for no one, not even a future Hall of Famer.

At 35, Kelce knows the questions are coming: How much longer can he keep this up? Especially when his life off the field, Hollywood gigs, business ventures, and a superstar romance keep pulling him in new directions. Some wonder if those distractions have already taken a toll. After two seasons where his numbers dipped, Kelce himself admitted he may have spread himself too thin. But former TE Greg Olsen sees it differently. To him, Kelce isn’t slipping; he’s just a victim of his impossible standard. “I think Travis is kind of a victim of his own success,” Olsen said on the Rich Eisen Show. The former Pro Bowl TE explained how Kelce rewrote expectations at the position.

“You know, I think he ended his streak of a thousand yards at seven,” Olsen said. “It was unheard of for guys to go that level of consistency year in and year out.” He emphasized how remarkable this was for a TE – a position where players typically decline sharply in their mid-30s. “He was defying all of that for the position,” Olsen added. The analyst then made his key point about perception versus reality. “So then all of a sudden you don’t get a thousand yards a couple seasons in a row and people lose their minds.“

And Olsen might be right. Let’s not forget, Kelce’s ‘down years‘ would still be career highs for most TEs. In 2023, after whispers that he’d lost a step (he only had 984 yards), he flipped the switch in the playoffs, hauling in 32 catches for 355 yards and three TDs, carrying the Chiefs to another ring.

But 2024 was different. The regular season numbers (823 yards, three TDs) were his lowest since his rookie year. And this time, the playoff magic didn’t come. Just 13 catches for 175 yards in three games, his quietest postseason in years. Was it age? Distractions? Or just the inevitable toll of a position that chews up even the greats? 

Well, Kelce recently answered that himself.

Travis Kelce reflects on career crossroads

While Greg Olsen sees Travis Kelce as a victim of his impossible standards, the Chiefs TE himself points to another factor: his growing world beyond football. Over the past two years, as his stats dipped from their usual sky-high levels, Kelce’s off-field career exploded. Hosting Saturday Night Live, acting in FX’s Grotesquerie, and even stepping into Happy Gilmore 2, Hollywood came calling, and Kelce answered.

Now, he admits that balancing it all may have cost him. “I think it might have slipped a little bit because I did have a little bit more focus in trying to set myself up,” he told GQ. “Opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer.”

But Kelce doesn’t regret it. He loves the grind of football, but he also loves building something new. His podcast with brother Jason Kelce, New Heights, has become a must-listen, and his charisma makes him a natural on camera. Still, he holds himself to a brutal standard. “I never want the product to tail off,” he said. “I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”

The numbers back that up. After seven straight 1,000-yard seasons, something no TE had ever done, his production dipped to 984 yards in 2023, then 823 in 2024. Even so, he’s far from done. The fire is still there. After briefly flirting with retirement this offseason, Kelce doubled down. “Win a Super Bowl is the only goal,” he said. “It’s every goal.” So while Hollywood might have pulled his focus for a moment, football still owns his heart. The question now isn’t whether Kelce can still dominate, it’s whether he can do it while living two big dreams at once.