Given his contract details, Chiefs will want an answer from Travis Kelce soon

Travis Kelce is going to take some time to mull his future. The Chiefs are surely fine with that.

But they probably hope he doesn't take too much time.

Under the two-year contract he signed in 2024, Kelce has a $4.5 million non-guaranteed base salary, a $250,000 workout bonus, and a $1 million non-guaranteed roster bonus due on the fifth day of training camp. More immediately, he has an $11.5 million non-guaranteed roster bonus due on March 14. Which is four weeks away.

So, yeah, the clock is ticking.

He could always agree to delay the due date for the March 14 bonus. But that would require the Chiefs to carry his current $19.8 million cap number until he exits the roster. And it would complicate their planning for 2025, delaying the pursuit of potential free-agent replacements like Mike Gesicki, Tyler Conklin, or Zach Ertz.

A retirement or an outright release would drop his cap charge to $2.5 million, freeing up $17.25 million in cap space.

If Kelce hasn't made a decision by March 14, the Chiefs could decide to amicably sever the relationship with the understanding that the door is open. Or he could retire and, if he changes his mind, return.

Regardless, the machine will keep going with or without him. And the Chiefs will want to know where he stands so that proper steps can be taken to get the best possible team on the field for 2025.

He surely knows this. Which suggests that, at some point in the next four weeks, he'll announce whether he's in — or whether he's out.