Travis Kelce on the imminent tight end pay bump

Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce stops by to talk about the massive success of Tight End U, how the tight end position is only becoming more important and how he’s helping someone find their perfect bling.

Travis joined Yahoo Sports on behalf of Helzberg Diamonds. For more information you can go to www.Helzberg.com and follow Helzberg Diamonds on social media in August to find out what happened when Travis Kelce helped one lucky man prepare for the big proposal.

Video Transcript

JARED QUAT: What's up, everybody? I'm here with Chiefs tight end, five-time all-Pro, Travis Kelce?

TRAVIS KELCE: That's right, baby. That's right. TKelc, Travis Kelce. It's one and the same. One's a nickname, one's a real name, man.

JARED QUAT: That's what it seemed like. Someone was like, I'm like, has he got a rap name now? It's like, I thought I was calling you the right name for the whole time, man. Because that's been blowing up all over the internet, trending widely. So, you want to go by Kelce.

TRAVIS KELCE: Yeah, everybody can keep calling me Travis Kelce, man.

JARED QUAT: You're coming off back to back trips to the Super Bowl, both a win and a loss. And I feel like you're one of the few people that can answer this. Like, how big is that contrast?

TRAVIS KELCE: Man, I'll tell you what. It's both motivating. But the loss is definitely, you know, it sits a little different over the course of, what is it? Four months in the off season. It's just-- it weighs on you. It makes you think about it all the time, and it makes you want to get back out there faster.

So I'm glad that we're a week away from camp here, and we can go ahead and rejuvenate this team and then get everything going to try and make another run and get in the Super Bowl, man.

JARED QUAT: You and 48 other tight ends met up in Nashville at the end of June to take part in what's called Tight End University.

TRAVIS KELCE: Oh yeah.

JARED QUAT: What was so special about being on the field with so many other great tight ends and learning from each other?

TRAVIS KELCE: TEU. I'll tell you what, man. It was-- we had an unbelievable showing, man. Over 45, almost 50 tight ends throughout the league showed up. And really just, we got to it, man. We learned from each other. We heard multiple experiences throughout the league. And you know, everything was just reassuring. We're all pros. We're all in this together. Everybody knows the basics of football.

And, we're all just trying to get better and make this position more of a staple in every offense. Not that it's not. I mean, we get asked to do just about everything on the field. In my mind, we are a mismatch. We're bigger than the little guys, and we're faster than the big guys. So it's just, in my mind, I feel like we always have a mismatch. And an opportunity to make a play for a quarterback. And also make a play for a running back in the run game.

So it's just, you know, just getting everybody on the same page, kind of uplifting each other and making everybody better.

JARED QUAT: Man, you said it best. I feel like the tight ends are asked to do both: blocking and be receivers. You feel like that conversation needs to pick up for people who do as much as tight ends do?

TRAVIS KELCE: I mean, obviously, I would love that. I think that-- I think there's guys like George Kittle who's set to make $15 mil per year for the next couple years. I think that's a huge stepping stone for the tight end position, and what he's been able to do for the tight end room is second to none. I mean, obviously, you want to talk about a guy that can do it all, Kittle is that guy, man. And he's the vocal point in his offense. Everybody loves turning on the film and watching 85 run around.

And then a guy like Darren Waller, who just shows up, is an absolute physical beast. And can run with anybody, can jump higher than anybody. A guy like Kyle Pitts, getting drafted fourth overall, and getting a big paycheck as a rookie. I really see the tight end position ascending right now. And I just, I love to be part of it, man.

JARED QUAT: And since we're talking about Super Bowls, I know your Super Bowl ring has a few diamonds in it. And you're being here on behalf of Helzberg Diamonds. Can you tell everyone about what you're doing with them?

TRAVIS KELCE: Today, I'm here at Helzberg Diamonds. I was helping my guy Tyler out, a Chiefs fan here in Kansas City. Picked a perfect diamond for his perfect lady, man. It's just a whole lot of fun, man. And at Helzberg Diamonds, you get the fifth C. Everybody knows when you're looking for a diamond, you get the color, the cut, the clarity, the carat. Like, you got to make sure you hone in on those four, right?

Well at Helzberg, you get the fifth C. And that's choice. There's so many variety of different types of real diamonds in this building that, you know what I mean, it's just, it's like none other diamond store out there. And that's why I've always thought of Helzberg Diamonds any time I'm trying to get diamonds, and trying to get fresh. And, you know, everything in here, you get your bang for your buck. Your diamond for your dollar, your sparkle for your spend. Man, you name it, man, they got it for you.

JARED QUAT: You almost made me want to buy some diamonds right now. I can't afford them, but--

TRAVIS KELCE: That's why I'm here, baby. That's why I'm here.

JARED QUAT: Oh man. Well look it, man. Thank you for spending time with me today. I hope you get more diamonds next year as you get another Super Bowl ring, brother. Thank you for spending some time with me, man. Have a good season.

TRAVIS KELCE: Appreciate you, Jared, man. We going to work. We going to work for it.