For a while now, nobody knew what was running in Travis Kelce’s head. He was unusually quiet about his future with the Kansas City Chiefs, and so the retirement rumors didn’t take long to come. Talks about how he could follow his brother’s footsteps and take that high-paying studio analyst role made the rounds. For someone with Kelce’s personality, his podcast fame, and his celebrity status, a move to broadcasting makes sense. But it turns out Kelce had something else in mind. Travis Kelce, as per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, chose loyalty over royalty. And he might have given a loyalty discount to the Chiefs.

“Back for more: #Chiefs future Hall of Fame TE Travis Kelce is expected to return to Kansas City for a 14th season, a message that’s been delivered to teams who will want him,” Rapoport wrote on X. “At 36, Kelce’s play was at its usual level, landing him in the Pro Bowl. He’s loyal to KC & will stay.”

A source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Kelce decided to sign a one-year contract worth $12 million with a maximum value of $15 million. But this decision is something that might not have come easily for Kelce. Because he really didn’t have to make it back to the team. He was projected to happily earn around $15 million per year if he took Amazon’s offer up. Plus, his decision to return matters even more once you need to backtrack in time.

The Chiefs had a rare playoff-missing season, their first since 2014! Not just that their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, suffered a torn ACL and LCL. So for Kelce, who turns 37 this year, returning to a team that’s facing such uncertainty, and a quarterback coming back from a major injury, isn’t exactly a simple option. But when Kelce appeared on The Pat McAfee Show, his reasoning sounded simple.

“I’m still in love with this game. I still love going to work, putting on the pads, grinding it out, and playing the game… there are a lot of pieces in Kansas City that I absolutely love, and I can’t wait to get back in the building with them,” Kelce said, per A to Z Sports reporter Charles Goldman.

And despite all that talk about age, Kelce added 851 receiving yards from 76 receptions and five touchdowns. Last season, the double-teamed him, which further highlights this fact. The three-time Super Bowl winner crossed 13,000 receiving yards last season, becoming the third TE to do so. In his prime, he posted 1000+ receiving yards in seven consecutive seasons. It is the highest by a tight end ever. The next best is only for four consecutive seasons.

However, Kelce’s return had more to do with more than his love for football.

Travis Kelce credits Taylor Swift for his Chiefs return

Turns out that Kelce’s decision to make a return for his 14th season was influenced not by someone inside the Chiefs organization, but rather his pop superstar fiancée, Taylor Swift. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Kelce revealed that Swift’s passion for her craft played a surprising role in pushing him to keep going.

“We share the same love for what we do, and fortunately, we’ve had this desire since we were kids in our selective professions,” Kelce said. “It’s amazing to see her keep going to the table, keep finding new things to write about, keep finding new melodies, and, on top of that, still see her have that love and joy in what she does.”

“Of course, that’s motivating,” Kelce mentioned. “Something like that definitely motivates me to say, ‘You know what, I’m not done, either. ‘ I’ve still got some ideas in the back of my mind and still got some juice left to play this game.”

There were football reasons too, like Kelce talked about the return of Eric Bieniemy as offensive coordinator, alongside head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, which made the decision easier.