NFL insider admits critical mistake with Chiefs, Travis Kelce 'extension'

There's good news and bad news, Kansas City Chiefs fans.

The good news is Travis Kelce is now the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.

The bad news is he is not locked into a contract until 2027, as was previously believed. What everyone thought was a two-year extension was actually a big misunderstanding, according to Albert Breer.

"Read a text wrong—it's not an extension. It's a raise, per source, to the existing deal," Breer tweeted. "So he's under contract for the next two years at $34.25 million, and up after 2025."

Travis Kelce contract details: Chiefs tight end got raise, not extension

Under his former deal, Kelce was making $14.3 million per year, according to Spotrac. The raise bumps him up to $17.1 million per year, just over the contract being paid out to Giants tight end Darren Waller. His deal still runs through 2025.

The disappointment here is that Kelce isn't extending his time with the Chiefs. At least not right now.

If he had agreed to an extension through 2027, it would kept him around for four seasons or until he decided to retire. He would have been 38 by the end of that deal.

The raise might be a more savvy move by the Chiefs though. He has been the best tight end in the game and Kansas City is keeping him happy by paying him that way. But he has also seemingly been on the decline. As much as everyone wants a guarantee he'll end his career in a Chiefs uniform, 2023 was his worst season in terms of productivity since 2015. Injuries and time have slowed him even if he remains Patrick Mahomes' most effective weapon.

Kelce will turn 36 by the end of his current contract. If he has a rebound year in 2024 and expresses a desire to lengthen his career by multiple years, the Chiefs can revisit the extension idea. For now. it might be best not to be contractually obligated to an aging tight end for that long.