Travis Kelce and Chiefs begin training camp as he shuts himself off from Taylor Swift ahead of possible final season
The legendary tight end teased possible retirement from football in the wake of the Chiefs' Super Bowl heartbreak against the Philadelphia Eagles.
But the 35-year-old later confirmed he would return for at least one more NFL season as he bids to win a fourth Super Bowl in Kansas City.
And this week, Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of Andy Reid's players reported for training camp ahead of the upcoming campaign.
From Tuesday until August 13, the Chiefs will be based at Missouri Western State University in St Joseph - around an hour north Arrowhead Stadium.
There, Kelce and the other 89 players on the roster will stay in dorms on campus for the duration of camp. That means three weeks without seeing their partners and families. For Kelce, that means three weeks without seeing girlfriend Taylor Swift.
'We love this place, and it's a great place to have training camp,' Reid said. 'They roll out the red carpet and take care of us like no other.'
Kelce - who is entering his 13th season in the NFL - has a year remaining on his current, $34.25million deal with the Chiefs. But he has not ruled out playing beyond the 2025 season.
Together with quarterback Mahomes and head coach Reid, Kelce helped turn Kansas City into an NFL dynasty.
Reid is notorious for running one of the most brutal camps in the NFL but the head coach insisted: 'It builds you a foundation that you can bank on.'
'It's important that the guys come in with the right frame of mind, and they know that. They pass the word down to the young guys that they better be ready to go. That helps us in the long haul.'
The Chiefs are now one of only half a dozen NFL teams that now travel for training camp but 15 of their 17 practices will be open to the public.
Kansas City was eyeing a historic three-peat last season, only for Kelce, Mahomes and Co to lose 40-22 to the Eagles in New Orleans.
This year, the Chiefs will kick off the season in Brazil, with a game in Sao Paulo against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Ed Kelce recently insisted 'there was never any doubt in my mind' that his son would play on
In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, Kelce's father, Ed, revealed that he was always sure that his son would play on.
'There was never any doubt in my mind,' his father said. 'Although I kept my mouth shut.'
Ed Kelce confirmed that Travis did not ask for advice on his future and that he would have not given him any.
'He wasn't ready to quit. It was a sour taste. That sucked. If you were a Chiefs (player) or a Chiefs fan, that Super Bowl was the worst,' Kelce's father said.
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