Stephen A. Smith Thinks Travis Kelce Will Retire in 2026 to Be With Taylor Swift: ‘Now Would Be the Time’

There’s been a lot of talk about when Travis Kelce will retire from the NFL over the past few years, and with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end now engaged to Taylor Swift — not to mention his team’s less-than-ideal performance this season — Stephen A. Smith thinks it’s right around the corner.

While speaking to People in an interview published Tuesday (Dec. 9), the sports analyst pointed to both Kelce’s developing personal life and the Chiefs’ recent string of losses as reasons why the athlete may hang up his No. 87 jersey next year. “I think that you could see the handwriting that’s on the wall,” Smith said.

“The guy is so talented, and there are so many other things that he could do outside of football that now would be the time for him to step away,” the ESPN personality continued. “He’s still great. He’s a three-time champion … But Father Time is undefeated and eventually it creeps up on us all.”

Noting that Kelce would have plenty of doors open to him in the entertainment world following his career in the NFL, Smith added as another incentive for the Happy Gilmore 2 star to retire, “Obviously he has a beautiful lady in his life, where there’s a lot of good things for him to go home to.”

Billboard has reached out to Kelce’s reps as well as the Chiefs for comment.

The Chiefs are currently 6-7, most recently losing to the Houston Texans on Dec. 7 — a game attended by Swift alongside bestie Selena Gomez. It’s a far cry from where the team was two years ago, with the Kansas City players winning their second Super Bowl in a row in 2024. They made it to the big game once again in 2025, but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Kelce — who has won three Super Bowls total — is now 36 years old and is in his 13th season playing for the NFL. His older brother, Jason Kelce, retired from the Philadelphia Eagles after the same amount of seasons in 2024.