Travis Kelce Says He’ll Quit If Coach Andy Reid Does: ‘I’m Not Playing for Anybody Else’

Kelce and Reid have won three Super Bowls together over the last five seasons

Kansas City Chiefs Coach Andy Reid Sings Taylor Swift's Praise Ahead of 2024 Super Bowl: 'She Loves the Game and Obviously Loves Kelce'
Travis Kelce and Andy Reid. Photo:

Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty

Travis Kelce isn’t going to play for anybody other than Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

On the latest episode of Travis’ New Heights podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, the 34-year-old NFL star said he’d quit playing football if Reid quit coaching.

Travis’ comment came as he and his brother were discussing the Chiefs star’s widely debated outburst towards Reid on the sideline during Sunday night’s Super Bowl game.

“I’m a passionate guy,” Kelce said, talking about the moment he bumped into Reid while yelling at him on the sideline. “I love Coach Reid, Coach Reid knows how much I love to play for him, how much I love to be a product of his coaching career. I’m not playing for anybody else but Big Red. If he calls it quits this year I’m out of there with him, man.”

Jason responded saying, “He ain't calling it quits, come on now.”

“He’s not,” Travis said.

Reid, 65, has been an NFL head coach for 25 seasons. He's coached the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chiefs, winning three Super Bowls with Kansas City.

Reid confirmed he's planning to return to coach the Chiefs next season shortly after winning the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Travis Kelce #87 and head coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs walk on stage during Super Bowl LVIII Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium on February 5, 2024 in Las Vegas, NV. (
Travis Kelce and Andy Reid.

Perry Knotts/Getty

After the admission that he'll only play for Reid, Travis went on to explain what happened between him and his coach during the Super Bowl. 

Travis and Reid have a close relationship, both joining the Chiefs in 2013 and winning three Super Bowls together in the last five seasons. They’ve frequently showed emotion towards each other on the sideline, but Sunday’s exchange was caught on camera and shown during the Super Bowl broadcast on CBS in front of a record-breaking television audience

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Super Bowl LVIII: Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and Travis Kelce (87) in action, celebrate victory vs San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium.
Andy Reid and Travis Kelce.

Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty

During and after the game, fans debated whether Travis had taken things too far when he grabbed his coach’s arm and yelled in his face, or whether it was simply a passionate exchange between a football player and his coach about the game.

“I’ve got a certain relationship with him,” Travis explained during the podcast. “He’s checked me a few times and I just wanted to let him know that I wanted this thing, and he can put it on me and I got him. It came at a moment where we weren’t playing very well — I wasn't playing very well — and we had to get some shit going. And sometimes those emotions get away from me, and that’s been the battle of my career. Everybody else? I don’t give a shit what anybody else says.”

Head coach Andy Reid and Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs look on during the second quarter of a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on November 26, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Andy Reid and Travis Kelce.

Jeff Bottari/Getty

Travis added that he and Reid have since spoken about the incident: “I talked to Coach Reid about it today and we kind of chuckled about it. I couldn’t be more proud of being his product on the field and I couldn’t be more proud of where we've come as a team since I got here in 2013. And I just love playing for the guy and unfortunately my passion comes out where it looks like it's negativity, but I’m grateful he knows that it’s all because I want to win this thing with him more than anything.”

The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl 25-22 in overtime over the San Francisco 49ers. After the game, both Reid and Travis laughed off the incident and downplayed the seriousness of their sideline exchange.

“He caught me off balance,” Reid told ESPN after the game. “I wasn’t watching. He was really coming over [and saying], ‘Just put me in, I’ll score. I’ll score.’ So, that’s really what it was. I love that. It’s not the first time. I appreciate him.“

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