Travis Kelce may not be ready to retire from the NFL. But when he does, he has a plan.
Kelce, 34, is interested in pursuing a role in entertainment after his football career comes to a close, a source tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story about the Kansas City Chiefs star tight end and his NFL brother, Jason Kelce, who is a center for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He’s really enjoyed hosting, and after he retires, he wants to lean into acting and hosting,” the source says. “He had a blast at SNL.”
Kelce, whose romance with Taylor Swift has dominated headlines throughout the NFL season, previously hosted Saturday Night Live last March. The appearance came less than a month after the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII by defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.
The Kelce source says that “football has and will always come first” for the team’s star tight end, who again led the Chiefs in receiving yards this season and was recently named a team captain for their NFL playoffs run.
But during the offseason, Kelce “lets loose and loves going out with his friends and traveling,” the source says. “He is super fun, very funny and outgoing,” they add. “Travis is the life of the party, always. He makes you feel like the most special person in the room when you’re around him. It doesn’t matter who you are.”
Kelce recently opened up about his post-NFL career opportunities when he was asked about stepping away from the game.
Although the athlete says he has “no reason” to stop playing football, he did point out a few opportunities on the horizon that he’d like to try out.
“I’ve been fortunate to do a few things outside of the sports world that I’ve been enjoying doing, like getting on camera,” Kelce told reporters last week.
He explained, “The SNL stuff kind of opened up a new happiness and a new career path for me, but it’s funny for me to even say that at this point in my career because I think it’s so much further down the road than it is right now.”
For now, Kelce’s focus remains on the gridiron.
After defeating the Miami Dolphins in the playoffs last week, he and the Chiefs will head to upstate New York to take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in the AFC Divisional round.
If the Chiefs beat the Bills, they’ll move on to the AFC Championship Game a week after that. And if they win the AFC Championship, Kelce and the Chiefs will be headed to Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11.
