By Andrew Marchand, Richard Deitsch and Mark Puleo
In combined career earnings, Jason and Travis Kelce have made over $155 million from playing in the NFL. Their off-the-field ventures are now topping nine figures as well.
The brothers inked a deal with Amazon’s podcast network Wondery to be the new home of their “New Heights” podcast, Amazon announced Tuesday. The contract is worth in the neighborhood of $100 million, according to a source briefed on the negotiations.
The deal gives Wondery exclusive ad sales and distribution rights for the podcast, and episodes will be available for early listening and ad free for Wondery+ subscribers, according to Amazon.
“We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Wondery for the next phase of ‘New Heights,’” the Kelce brothers said in the company’s announcement. “We love this show and the fan base that has grown with us over the last two seasons. Wondery understands the shared vision and will offer a wealth of experience and resources to take us to new heights! We are going to create some groundbreaking moments together through this partnership. We are thrilled to start Season 3 — see you soon, 92%ers!”
“New Heights” will be distributed via Wondery starting with Wednesday’s episode to kick off the third season.
WE’RE BAAAAAAACK!!!
Season 3 premieres TOMORROW and we’ve got an absolute banger of an episode to kick it off 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LdJtH9lofz
— New Heights (@newheightshow) August 27, 2024
According to data from Edison Research, “New Heights” was the fourth-biggest podcast in the United States for the first quarter of 2024, its highest-ever ranking.
How did ‘New Heights’ grow this big?
The Kelces’ timing of joining the podcast space could not have been more fortuitous given we are in an era where athlete-driven podcasts have become a staple of large sports networks. This one is unique given the sport (the NFL), the currency of the hosts (Travis plays for the Kansas City Chiefs and Jason recently retired from the Philadelphia Eagles) and then, of course, Travis’ massive cross-over appeal due to his relationship with Taylor Swift.
Wondery is counting on the cultural relevancy of the Kelces to make this a revenue success for them. It helps that Travis still plays in the NFL and Jason has a major platform on ESPN.
One of the interesting notes in the deal is Wondery’s plans to translate the podcast to different languages to increase its global audience, including in NFL-strong markets such as the United Kingdom and Mexico. That’s a blank space for NFL fans.
Sports podcasts see astronomical success when listeners feel part of a community or a club. That’s how Wondery will push this brand, and what’s interesting is where the company takes it before Travis inevitably retires from the NFL. The big growth potential remains in leveraging him as a current player. — Richard Deitsch, sports media writer
Required reading
(Photo: David Calvert / Getty Images for American Century Investments)