Travis Kelce has lost one of the NFL‘s most prestigious annual honors amid ongoing questions about his potential retirement. The Chiefs star continues to remain mum about his future in the league and has yet to make the highly anticipated decision.
NFL releases Travis Kelce news
Travis Kelce was recently nominated for the NFL Honors’ Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. The Kansas City Chiefs picked him from the team as a potential candidate for the award. It is one of the most prestigious titles that the league presents each year. Past recipients of the award include Bobby Wagner, Arik Armstead, and Cameron Heyward, among other stars.
However, in a disappointing moment for Kelce, the award finally went to the Washington Commanders’ Bobby Wagner. The star linebacker delivered a heartfelt acceptance speech, thanking his parents. “I didn’t realize how hard it was to be a father until I got two kids of my own,” Wagner cheered his father, Bobby Sr. On an emotional note, he called his mom “my rock,” declaring, “she’s the reason why I’m standing up here.”
The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award was announced on Thursday, February 5. One of the highest honors in the league, the award was established in 1970. It “recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field.” According to the official website, the recipient of this annual award gets “up to a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice.” Meanwhile, all 32 club winners receive “up to a $40,000 donation to their charity of choice.”
Kelce’s disappointing loss at this year’s NFL Honors comes amid the growing speculation about his potential retirement. The Kansas City Chiefs star has yet to announce whether he will hang up his cleats this year. He weighed in on the retirement rumors on the January 7 episode of the New Heights podcast. The tight end told his brother and co-host Jason Kelce that he plans on “just being a regular human for a couple weeks, maybe a month or so, trying to figure out what I’m gonna do next in terms of my future in football.”
