Chiefs' Travis Kelce Talks Super Bowl, Retirement, SNL and More in B/R Interview

Travis Kelce is embracing the target on his team's back.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the reigning champions and the gold standard of the league for the last five seasons, and that isn't going to change in 2023. That means every team that faces them is going to circle the game on the calendar.

"That's what you want," Kelce told Bleacher Report. "You want everybody's best. That's the challenge, and the competitor in me loves that feeling going up against the best. It gets me excited that everyone is going to give us their best shot yet again this year."

This is familiar territory for the tight end.

It wasn't long ago he and the Chiefs won the Super Bowl during the 2019 campaign and entered the 2020 season as the team to beat. They thrived under that pressure and went 14-2 during the regular season before advancing to the Super Bowl, where they lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"After coming off the Super Bowl title the previous time, we got everybody's best shot," Kelce said. "I absolutely loved that year, that was one of my favorite seasons all the way up until the very end when we met Tom Brady and the Bucs in the Super Bowl. It's an honor when you get the respect of the guys across from you, and it makes you want to dial in even more."

Kansas City will need to be dialed in against a daunting 2023 schedule that includes a Super Bowl rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles, an AFC Championship Game rematch against the Cincinnati Bengals, a high-profile showdown against Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills and matchups against playoff teams in the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins.

Throw in difficult divisional games against Justin Herbert's Los Angeles Chargers, Russell Wilson's Denver Broncos and the new-look Las Vegas Raiders, and there aren't many easy contests in a Super-Bowl-or-bust season.

But the chance to make history as back-to-back champions is just what Kelce wants.

"There's been a special group of guys in the NFL who have been able to win one Super Bowl, two Super Bowls," he said. "I think you share a little bit more of a special bond if you get that back-to-back Super Bowl. That bond with the teammates and the guys you do that with can be really special and really legendary. That's really going to drive me this year, to experience that with the guys I know we can go get another one with."

Kelce's presence is a major reason there are once again championship expectations.

He played all 17 games last season and finished with 110 catches for 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was named to his eighth Pro Bowl and earned his fourth First-Team All-Pro selection as a result, which further cemented his status as one of the best tight ends in NFL history.

The University of Cincinnati product only added to his campaign in the postseason with two touchdowns in a win over the Jaguars and a touchdown in a win over the Bengals. He then notched six catches for 81 yards and a score in the Super Bowl win over his brother, Jason, and the Eagles.

Kelce said after the Super Bowl that he "wanted this one more than I wanted a game in my life," especially with the family angle at play.

While he admitted "I don't know if we'll ever top that feeling," he also said, "I want to see if we can."

Doing so would add to the ongoing discussion about whether the Chiefs are a modern-day dynasty after reaching five straight AFC Championship Games and three Super Bowls in the five years since Patrick Mahomes became the full-time starting quarterback.

Kelce said it's "a pretty cool feeling" when he hears the dynasty talk but pointed out he doesn't get many opportunities to reflect on the success and let it sink in until the offseason.

"During the football season, you're so dialed into each and every week and your body and getting your mind right," he said. "You don't get to see the loved ones and your friends and family. So getting back to Cleveland and being able to see everyone and relive the moments that they had watching the Super Bowl has been the coolest part.

"Obviously me and my brother played against each other, so it just meant that much more for my family and friends and where I come from. It's been awesome to relive those moments after the season ended."

Cooper Neill/Getty Images

Don't worry, though, Chiefs fans.

Reflecting on that success does not mean he is considering retirement even if he turns 34 years old in October and has little left to accomplish in the game with a resume that includes two Super Bowl titles, eight Pro Bowls, four First-Team All-Pro selections, seven straight years with more than 1,000 receiving yards and three seasons with double-digit touchdown catches.

"I absolutely love what I'm doing, I love doing it here in Kansas City," Kelce said. "I don't even want to think about putting a time limit on this. My body still feels good, I still feel like I can help the Kansas City Chiefs win. On top of that, every single day is a blast coming into the building.

"I'm definitely having fun and haven't put much thought into it."

The fun has continued into the offseason.

Kelce hosted Saturday Night Live and drew plenty of praise for his performance. While he said he was grateful for the props he has received for that showing, the same cannot be said about the first pitch he threw before a Cleveland Guardians game.

He essentially spiked it into the ground and sent Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber backing out of the way before they shared a hug and a laugh in the aftermath. Mahomes even roasted him on Twitter for the effort:

"There was something about that first pitch in Cleveland that just got me fired up," he said while laughing. "The nerves mixed with poor fundamentals and not doing something very often, that wasn't a good mixture. It definitely wasn't my proudest moment.

"That was pretty embarrassing to go up there as the Cleveland kid who couldn't even get it to home plate. I'm going to need a chance at redemption sometime soon."

The busy offseason didn't stop at 30 Rockefeller Plaza or Progressive Field.

Kelce is part of the Lowe's Home Team that participates in local projects across the Kansas City community, including the construction of the NFL draft stage with Thursday's event taking place in the city.

He stopped by to help deliver tools, safety gear and supplies to those who are building the stage and partnered with Lowe's to help introduce the MVPs Business Tools for Pros in the Lowe's mobile app to help others also get tools and supplies they need for projects.

"Lowe's has been friendly enough to team up with me on a few smaller projects throughout the city and really give back to the community," he said. "On top of that with the draft coming into KC, I've teamed up with the Lowe's Home Team yet again this year to provide the tools and equipment for all the pros who are really making this stage at the NFL draft.

"We're trying to help make their life easier, especially in such a small amount of time. This isn't easy putting up a stage in a few weeks. I can't wait to see what the outcome looks like … It's just been so much fun seeing their excitement in bringing this stage to Kansas City."

The rookies who come across that stage during Thursday's draft will be entering an NFL that, for the time being, belongs to Kelce and the Chiefs.