Travis Kelce is a winner. No matter how his season went or the way it ended with a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss to the Eagles. You cannot take anything away from Kelce’s time in Kansas City. Wearing the crown of the Chiefs leader in receiving TDs or the most Super Bowl receptions for a pass catcher. Kelce has kind of done and achieved everything he possibly can as a tight end in the NFL. However, the Super Bowl loss has somewhat taken a toll on Kelce’s thoughts about retirement. And with his future still up in the air, FS1 analyst Emmanuel Acho has identified what Kelce is trying to do with his retirement comments.

Hopping on the latest episode of the New Heights Podcast, Kelce didn’t beat around the bush talking about his future. “I know everybody wants to know whether or not. I’m playing next year and right now. I’m just kicking everything down the road…I’m not making any crazy decisions…I think I could play. It’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me.” Well, those comments caught Acho’s attention. He summed up Kelce’s retirement stance by saying, “You can’t cheat the game of football.” 

Acho actually liked Kelce’s retirement thoughts because he has kept all the doors open. Whether it’s about coming back next season after seeing how his body performs in the offseason or moving away while there’s still time. Like everyone knows, the future Hall of Famer TE has massively regressed in his 12th season in the NFL. After eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark for six seasons straight, Kelce has failed to repeat those numbers in two consecutive seasons. Yeah, you could say he could have easily breached that number last season when he decided to rest in week 18 against the Chargers.

This season was a completely different picture where Kelce never looked like the player he was, barring a few games. Since getting into the team in 2014, this year saw Kelce record career-low numbers both in TDs and yardage. He only mustered 823 receiving yards and just 3 TDs. But is retirement really the right choice for Travis Kelce? Yeah, there are signs of decline at age 35. Kelce would surely want to leave on a high rather than have a Super Bowl loss as his final memory. And while he still thinks about returning to the gridiron for one last hurrah, his brother, Jason Kelce, also has a few things to say about the Super Bowl.

Jason Kelce addresses his Super Bowl LIX loyalties

The moment the Chiefs vs. Eagles were slated to face off in this year’s Super Bowl, all eyes were on Jason Kelce. Whom will he support? Will it be his former team or his own blood at football’s biggest spectacle? Well, after some strong claims, he was rooting heavily for the Eagles, who ended up winning on the night. Jason made it clear emotionally on their podcast that he never wanted to see his brother lose, “I’ve always supported you. I’ve always wanted you to win. And I wanted you to win this game. I thought I made that clear.” Even Travis also never doubted his brother’s loyalty: standing by his claims, “You made that clear to me.” 

But Jason didn’t stop there. He went on to add how his message got interpreted wrongly, “It was very, very hard to watch. I tried to correlate that I was rooting for both sides the whole time. And that I was going to be happy and sad regardless, no matter who won.” Well, of course, brotherly love will stand supreme over anything else that came between the Kelce’s. As the Chiefs’ No.87 also expressed, “I know who Jason Kelce is, and I know my brother and what his intentions are. Nobody can ever f—— confuse that.” 

So, the message to those who thought Jason had the Eagles over his brother—you now have the answer. Yeah, that loss sucked, and it probably will for a long time. But at least the brothers are happy moving on from a game that could have been historic for one Kelce.