“Kansas City Chiefs Star Travis Kelce Secret...

“Kansas City Chiefs Star Travis Kelce Secretly Battled Serious Illness Before Super Bowl Clash with Eagles, Reveals GM Brett Veach!”

Kansas City Chiefs’ General Manager Brett Veach was interviewed on the NFL podcast ‘The Insiders’

Clare Fisher is an editor for PEOPLE with over 15 years of experience in journalism. She has written for publications including OK! Magazine, The Mail on Sunday, Good Housekeeping, The Times and Red Magazine.

Travis Kelce was fighting a “big illness” before his Super Bowl defeat.

Brett Veach, 47, General Manager of Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, spoke about the issues facing the tight end in the run-up to the game on an upcoming episode of the NFL podcast, The Insiders.

Noting that he wasn’t “making excuses” for the Chiefs’ loss, Veach said that Kelce was “battling a pretty big illness” before the Super Bowl, which took place on Feb. 9, in New Orleans.

He then quipped that Kelce’s illness didn’t make much difference to the score as the Eagles — who won 40-22 — played so well. “We didn’t have the end to our season that we hoped for,” he added.

Touching on the loss, Veach admitted that the Chiefs had “picked a bad day to have a bad day.” But he said that the team would use the experience as “motivation to get better.”

“You learn more from your losses than your wins,” Veach added.

The Chiefs boss then addressed the swirling rumors that Kelce, 35, is set to retire. When asked if the star would return for the 2025 season, Veach said, “I think so. We anticipate Travis being back. We’re excited to have Travis back.”

He also noted that Kelce shares a unique relationship with “Pat” — quarterback Patrick Mahomes, 29 — and revealed that he “finds a way to stay in shape and produce at a level that only he can.”

“He makes us better when he’s in our locker room and on our field and we’re excited to get him back,” Veach continued, adding that Kelce had “accomplished everything that there is in this game.”

The sports manager also touched on Kelce’s “unique ability to make those around him better.”

Travis himself spoke about his future in the NFL on the Feb. 12, episode of New Heights, the podcast he presents alongside his brother Jason Kelce.

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“I know everybody wants to know whether or not I’m playing next year, and right now, I’m just kicking everything down the road. I’m not making any crazy decisions,” he said.

He also noted that the “biggest thing” for him and his teammates right now is “being there” for each other and “understanding.”

Meanwhile, Jason, 37, said he thinks Travis has already made up his mind about his sporting future on the Feb. 21, episode of  The Steam Room podcast.

“I think Travis, I think he probably, in his heart, already knows what he wants to do,” the Eagles alum said “That’s the reality of it,” he added.