Football star Travis Kelce is aiming for a lucrative podcast deal. His plan shows that he is more than just Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.
While Taylor Swift (34) is conquering the music world, Travis Kelce (34) may also be becoming one of the top earners in the podcast world in addition to his sports career. Together with his brother Jason Kelce (36), the football player has been hosting the “New Heights” podcast since September 2022. According to , the siblings are now aiming for a $100 million deal. This equates to around 92.27 million euros.
One of the most popular podcasts
The business magazine claims to have learned from discussion circles that the two have already held talks with Amazon’s podcast studio “Wondery”. If such a deal were to come about, the podcast could compete with big names like Joe Rogan (56) and his “The Joe Rogan Experience”. In February, he landed a deal with Spotify that could bring him up to 250 million dollars, the equivalent of around 230.6 million euros.
In terms of listenership, the Superbowl winner and former Philadelphia Eagles player is already among the big names. “New Heights” was the fourth most listened to podcast in the US in the first quarter of 2024. This represents a big leap for the podcast: a quarter earlier, it was still outside the top 5. With this upswing, the signs are good that it will achieve the desired amount.
Suddenly known outside the NFL community
Due to Swift’s commercial success, Kelce has suddenly gained more attention since the beginning of their relationship – especially outside of sports. To the chagrin of some NFL fans, he appeared in the headlines as “Taylor Swift’s boyfriend.” Sports fans have also been annoyed by fans of the singer, who has been regularly attending her boyfriend’s games since September 2023.
The NFL used the hype surrounding the musician to attract new viewers. Commentators talked about her and social media channels posted pictures and videos of her in the stands. After a win in October, the league’s X-Account changed its banner to a collage of snapshots of the singer at the game. Fans of the pop star also used banners to show that they only came to Kansas City Chiefs games because of Swift.
These things apparently upset American football fans. In December 2023, they booed the singer and her Swifties at a game when her face appeared on the screens in the stadium. Swift reacted calmly: “I don’t notice if I’m shown too much and upset a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
Not only the “friend of”
Kelce has been making a name for himself as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs since 2013 and became the team’s figurehead alongside quarterback Patrick Mahomes. With him, he won the prestigious Super Bowl in 2019, 2022 and 2023. The statistics also provide information about his talent: In his career, he set the record as a tight end who reached 10,000 receiving yards the fastest of all players in this position. Only five tight ends have achieved this mark so far.
Kelce’s two-year contract extension through 2027 will earn him $34.25 million. At the equivalent of around €31.59 million, this makes him the highest-paid tight end. Outside of sports, Kelce is building a foothold in television. In 2023, he hosted a show on “Saturday Night Live.” He will once again take on the role of host.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
