Chiefs complicate Travis Kelce talks with Chris Jones extension

The Chiefs will have a tough time giving Travis Kelce his own major contract extension.

The Kansas City Chiefs just can’t stop handing out money this offseason.

First came an insane 10-year extension for Patrick Mahomes. This immediately put Chris Jones up next in line for his own new deal, and he was given one Tuesday afternoon.

Jones is the recipient of a four-year extension worth up to $85 million. He now joins Mahomes and Frank Clark as the core moving forward in Kansas City. After Jones, it is reasonable to expect Travis Kelce to receive his own extension. However, there is not unlimited money to go around, and that could make the tight end the odd man out.

The Chiefs have tough decisions to make.

Kelce has two years remaining on his current five-year deal. The tight end carries an $11.2 million cap hit in 2020, which goes down to $8.75 million in 2021. One important thing to remember is that Kelce’s dead cap value goes down to $0 in 2021 as well.

This will be in a year when Mahomes’ cap hit goes up nearly $20 million, while Clark and Jones will also see raises as well. It may now not be so crazy to think the Chiefs could end up dangling Kelce in trade talks following the 2020 following the Jones extension.

He will turn 31 years old this October and will be demanding well over his $8.75 million cap hit given George Kittle resets the tight end market in the next year. Something in the $12-14 million range could immediately price out the Chiefs, especially for a player on the other side of 30.

Kelce has gone over 1,000 yards every year since 2016 and had 136 targets in 2019. He is Mahomes’ go-to guy, but there will be a limit of how many giant contracts the team can hand out.

That doesn’t eliminate the possibility of the Chiefs re-signing Kelce, and he may even come back on a team-friendly deal if his goal is simply to win in Kansas City. However, no one should blame him if he wants to get paid as much as possible.

If the Chiefs make it clear he will not be getting a big new deal, Kelce could also just play out his contract. He has done enough with the team to earn respect and there could be a handshake agreement to not put him up for a trade as the team chases another Super Bowl title.

There is a list of possibilities and Kelce’s fate is not yet decided. The Chiefs just have to be careful not to put all their money into a small core of players if that means bare-minimum deals elsewhere on the roster. Kelce has been a star, but the team may be wary of a potential decline given his age and the wear and tear he has taken from rarely missing a game.