When the curtain fell on 2023, Travis Kelce entered this year riding the wave of his blockbuster romance with Taylor Swift and hunting down a third Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs.
He will wave goodbye to 2024 having accomplished the latter in dramatic fashion – with the Chiefs getting over the line after a nail-biting encounter with the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas back in February – before providing one of the images of the year when he embraced Swift on the field afterwards.
Away from football, his relationship with the pop megastar has gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months, while there have even been acting and presenting debuts on the small screen. The New Heights podcast that he hosts with brother Jason also now has close to 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube.
So the question is… how can Kelce possibly top all of that in 2025?
Believe it or not, but next year has the potential to go down as the most sensational yet for the NFL superstar, given the possible next steps he and Swift can take in their relationship.
Engagement talk has been rife throughout 2024, with Taylor’s die-hard legion of ‘Swiftie’ fans desperate for Travis to get down on one knee and make it official with their beloved singer.
Travis Kelce won the Super Bowl and embraced Taylor Swift on the field at the start of 2024
His blockbuster romance with the pop megastar has continued to go from strength to strength
So as he closes out yet another sensational year, what will come next for Kelce in 2025?
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They will be holding their breath for him to do so in 2025, and it would take a brave man to bet against the Chiefs tight end popping the question before the year is out.
As recently as this week fans began speculating that the pair are already engaged after claiming that Swift’s left ring finger looked ‘blurred’ in a photo from her glitzy Eras Tour party.
A number of social-media users peddled the theory that she purposely ‘edited out’ an engagement ring in order to hide the news that Kelce has already asked her to marry him.
The couple are yet to announce any such news, which would undoubtedly break the internet if it was indeed confirmed.
Yet the pressure will be on for Kelce to step up and tie the songstress down, especially given fellow NFL star Josh Allen recently proposed to his own popstar-girlfriend in Hailee Steinfeld.
When you take into account that Allen and Steinfeld’s romance only became public knowledge in May 2023 – four months before Kelce and Swift’s was revealed – then we may not be too far away from the earth-shattering moment of a Travis proposal.
And if a proposal would be earth-shattering, then a pregnancy bombshell would completely blow it to pieces.
Again, Swifties have not tired of speculating about Travis and Taylor having children together in 2024, especially after the former dropped a number of hints throughout the year.
There could be more TV opportunities after he made his presenting debut earlier this year
But fans are most concerned about the next steps in his relationship with Swift in 2025 (Pictured: Kelce on stage with Swift for the Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium in June)
The songstress’ legion of fans are calling for Kelce to get down on one knee and propose
While presenting ‘Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity’ on Prime Video, Kelce discussed the topic of parenthood when celebrity contestant Ryan Fitzpatrick joked that having children makes you ‘wiser’.
‘Is that what happens when you have kids? You get smarter?’ the 35-year-old said. ‘Man, that’s all I had to do to become brilliant?’
He then teased the idea of becoming a dad once more when speaking about NBA player Victor Wembanyama’s 7ft 4in frame on New Heights with brother Jason last month.
‘You can’t tell me that dude wasn’t made in a f***ing lab over there in France,’ Travis quipped about Wembanyama before adding, ‘lab-grown diamonds? That’s a lab-grown f***ing NBA player. Can’t wait ‘til I f***ing make one.’
Jason then addressed the inevitable Swiftie frenzy by laughing: ‘Don’t do this. Do not give any of these other conspiracy theorists anything else to latch onto, please.’
Unfortunately for Travis’ big brother, the conspiracy theories about a Swift-Kelce baby will continue to intensify the longer they remain together.
And while a proposal may be the more likely of the two, Travis becoming a dad for the first time also can’t be ruled out given he will be turning 36 in 10 months time.
It is no secret that the three-time Super Bowl winner wants to start a family, so there will be few surprises if the wheels are put in motion for that over the next year.
Nevertheless, 2025 may also prove a memorable one for Kelce for slightly less cheery reasons.
Don’t bet against Kelce popping the question to Swift before next year comes to a close
The first four months of the 2024 NFL season have been a rollercoaster ride for the Kansas City hero, whose below-par form has at times sparked major concern that he could be set to bow out from football.
As things stand, Kelce is on course to record his lowest number of receptions for the Chiefs since 2017 with 84, which is set to go down as the fourth lowest return of his 11-year career.
His numbers are also well down when it comes to yards. Through 14 games he has a mere 709, with his previous low of 862 coming in his rookie season 10 years ago.
The man himself has dropped a number of retirement hints over the past year, including when he suggested that his outing against the Browns last weekend could be the final time he ever plays in his hometown of Cleveland.
‘It felt so surreal,’ Travis told Jason on New Heights. ‘I don’t know if it’s the last time I’ll play in Cleveland but it kinda felt like I was giving it one last hoorah before I’m done because I’ve only played there twice in 12 years … It was a special day for me personally.’
Another Super Bowl ring is of course not out of the question for Kelce next year with the Chiefs currently boasting a formidable 13-1 record.
They have rode their luck on several occasions after edging a host of one-score games, while the likes of the Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills will provide fierce competition in the postseason.
Travis’ NFL career is also in the balance, with many suggesting he could retire in 2025
He could bow out at the top if the Chiefs get their hands on a third consecutive Super Bowl
Doing so would allow him to ride off into the sunset with Swift after a historic three-peat
However, the back-to-back champions also entered last year’s playoffs as Super Bowl outsiders after flattering to deceive in the regular season, before proving themselves a clutch outfit by pulling out some huge victories on their way to a second straight Vince Lombardi.
Andy Reid’s winning machine are still one of the leading contenders to go all the way this season and seal an unprecedented ‘three-peat’ – but in either scenario, Kelce may feel the time is right to hang up his cleats and prioritize both his relationship with Swift and newfound status as a TV personality.
Waving goodbye to the sport he’s dedicated his whole life to will be much easier to do if he does indeed clinch a third successive Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Getting his hands on one last ring in 2025 would give him the perfect opportunity to ride off into the sunset with Swift by his side. And who knows… a different kind of ring could become a bigger talking point.
