As the curtain fell on 2023, Travis Kelce entered this year riding the wave of his successful romance with Taylor Swift and seeking a third Super Bowl ring with the Kansas City Chiefs.
He will bid farewell 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 in February) before providing one of the images of the year when he hugged Swift. in the field later.
Away from football, his relationship with the pop megastar has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months, and there have even been debuts as an actor and presenter on the small screen. The New Heights podcast he hosts with his brother Jason also now has nearly 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 become the most sensational yet for the NFL superstar, given the possible next steps he and Swift may take in their relationship.
Talk of engagement 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 hugged Taylor Swift on the field in early 2024
Her successful romance with the pop megastar has continued to go from strength to strength.
So, as he closes out another sensational year, what's next for Kelce in 2025?
They'll be holding their breath for him to do it 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 couple is already engaged after claiming that Swift's left ring finger looked “fuzzy” in a photo from her glitzy Eras Tour party.
Several social media users spread the theory that she deliberately “edited” an engagement ring to hide the news that Kelce had already asked her to marry him.
The couple is yet to announce any such news, which would certainly break the Internet if confirmed.
However, there will be pressure on Kelce to step up and rope in the singer, especially given that fellow NFL star Josh Allen recently proposed to his own pop star girlfriend, Hailee Steinfeld.
Considering Allen and Steinfeld's romance only became public in May 2023, four months before Kelce and Swift's was revealed, we may not be too far away from the momentous moment of a Travis proposal.
And if a proposal were momentous, then a pregnancy bomb would completely shatter it.
Once again, Swifties haven't stopped speculating that Travis and Taylor will have kids together in 2024, especially after the former dropped a series of hints throughout the year.
There could be more television opportunities after he made his hosting debut earlier this year.
But fans are more 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 singer's legion of fans asks Kelce to get down on one knee and propose to her
While hosting 'Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity' on Prime Video, Kelce addressed the topic of fatherhood when famous contestant Ryan Fitzpatrick joked that having children makes you 'wiser.'
'Is that what happens when you have children? Do you get smarter? the 35-year-old said. 'Man, that's all I had to do to be brilliant?'
He then poked fun at the idea of becoming a father once again when discussing NBA player Victor Wembanyama's 7-foot-4 height in New Heights with his brother Jason last month.
“You can't tell me that guy wasn't created in a fucking lab in France,” Travis joked about Wembanyama before adding, “lab-grown diamonds?” That's a fucking lab-grown NBA player. I can't wait until I make one.
Jason then addressed the inevitable Swiftie frenzy by laughing: 'Don't do this. Don't give any of these other conspiracy theorists anything else to hang on to, please.
Unfortunately for Travis' older brother, the Swift-Kelce baby conspiracy theories will only continue to intensify the longer they stay together.
And although a proposal may be the more likely of the two, it also cannot be ruled out that Travis will become a father for the first time, given that he will turn 36 in 10 months.
It's no secret that the three-time Super Bowl winner wants to start a family, so there will be few surprises if they get going in the next year.
However, the year 2025 may also prove memorable for Kelce for slightly less joyful reasons.
Don't bet on Kelce popping the question to Swift before the end of next year.
The first four months of the 2024 NFL season have been a rollercoaster for the Kansas City hero, whose poor form at times has led to widespread concern that he could retire from football.
As things stand, Kelce is on pace to record his lowest number of receptions for the Chiefs since 2017 with 84, which will become the fourth-lowest return of his 11-year career.
His numbers are also very low when it comes to yards. Through 14 games he has just 709, and his previous low of 862 came in his rookie season 10 years ago.
The man himself has dropped several hints about his retirement over the past year, including suggesting that his outing against the Browns last weekend could be the last time he plays in his hometown of Cleveland.
“It felt so surreal,” Travis told Jason in New Heights. “I don't know if it'll be the last time I'll play in Cleveland, but it felt like I was having one last hurrah before I'm done because I've only played there twice in 12 years… It was a special event.” day for me personally.”
Another Super Bowl ring, of course, is not out of the question for Kelce next year, as the Chiefs currently boast a formidable 13-1 record.
They have taken advantage of their luck on several occasions after overcoming a series of one-score games, while teams like the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills will offer fierce competition in the postseason.
Travis' NFL career is also on the line, with many suggesting he could retire in 2025.
He could retire at the top if the Chiefs win a third straight Super Bowl
Doing so would allow him to ride off into the sunset with Swift after a historic hat-trick.
However, the back-to-back champions also entered last year's playoffs as Super Bowl outsiders after cajoling and cheating in the regular season, before proving themselves to be a clutch team by posting some big wins on their way to a second Vince Lombardi consecutive.
Andy Reid's winning machine remains one of the leading contenders to go all the way this season and seal an unprecedented 'three-peat', but in any scenario, Kelce may feel the time is right to hang up his boots and prioritize his relationship. with Swift and her new status as a television personality.
Saying goodbye to the sport to which he has dedicated his entire life will be much easier if he achieves a third consecutive Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Getting 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 type of ring could become a bigger topic of conversation.