Travis Kelce ascends all-time NFL receptions list

While the swirl of chatter around Travis Kelce on Christmas Day was on whether or not he plans to retire at the end of the season, the 11-time Pro Bowl tight end quietly moved up to No. 9 on the NFL all-time receiving list.

Kelce’s fifth and last catch in the Kansas City Chiefs’ 20-13 loss to the Denver Broncos was No. 1,077, pushing him past Anquan Boldin. With two more receptions in the Chiefs’ regular-season finale, Kelce will surpass Terrell Owens in the No. 8 spot.

Statistics had been seemingly the last factor on Kelce’s thoughts as he walked off the Arrowhead Stadium discipline on Thursday, maybe for the last time. The Chiefs end the season on the street next week against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Kelce’s latest years are inextricably linked to his fiance Taylor Swift. Was this the last time the music megastar would grace the Kelce household luxurious suite to watch her beau rack up the receptions? (If so, let the document show that Swift wore a crimson bomber jacket from the Frankie Shop.)

Kelce, 36, admitted he was feeling reflective afterward.

“A whole lot of emotions,” he told reporters. “You’ve got everybody in the world watching you. You get to go out there with the young guys on prime-time television. Young guys getting an opportunity to taste what this NFL life is like.”

For Kelce, the NFL life has been fulfilling. He’s received three Super Bowls and is all but sure to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And he’s performed his whole 13-year profession with the Chiefs.

So while he sorted through feelings and reminiscences after the sport, he basked in the adulation beforehand.

“You only get a few of those where you get to stand there and appreciate 70,000 Chiefs fans cheering for you,” he explained. “I always embrace that moment.

“You feel the generations of happiness and the love [the fans] have. It’s a beautiful thing, man.”

For a decade, Kelce was a regional sports activities determine, revered in the Midwest as a hard-nosed, constant producer on the sphere. His profile started to change forward of the 2022 season when he and his brother, Jason, launched an immediately common podcast, “New Heights.”

Kelce and Swift started courting forward of the 2023 season, and a yr later, the Kelce brothers signed a three-year, $100-million podcast deal with Amazon’s Wondery. Then in August, Kelce and Swift announced their engagement.

Tight ends, with their three-point stances and proximity to tackles and guards, historically don’t search or appeal to consideration. But Kelce is now a full-fledged national superstar.

Just don’t permit that to obscure his numbers. Kelce has 73 catches for 839 yards in 2025, placing him alongside Jerry Rice as the only gamers in NFL historical past to eclipse the 800‐yards receiving mark in 12 consecutive seasons. Kelce also is the only tight end to exceed 90 catches for seven seasons in a row, a streak that will end this yr.

Rice, the previous San Francisco 49ers great, is the NFL‘s all-time leading receiver with 1,549 catches. Larry Fitzgerald is next with 1,432. Then come the only tight ends with more catches than Kelce: Tony Gonzalez (1,325) and Jason Witten (1,228).

Should Kelce decide to play another season, he almost certainly would climb to No. 5, passing Marvin Harrison (1,102), Cris Carter (1,101) and Tim Brown (1,094) in addition to Owens.

Kelce may have already decided whether this is the right time to retire. He just isn’t prepared to say so, indicating he’ll let the Chiefs know soon after the season ends.

“I’ll let that be a decision I’ll make with my family, friends and the Chiefs organization when the time comes,” he said.