Travis Kelce is on the brink of a new era.
With three Super Bowl wins and 13 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, the sun is setting on the 36-year-old’s incredible football career. At the same time, his media career is taking off.
He has his football-centric “New Heights” podcast alongside brother Jason and a budding acting career which saw him appear in Adam Sandler’s “Happy Gilmore 2” and hosting TV show “Are You Smarter than a Celebrity?” for Amazon this year.
Not to mention he has a wedding to plan with fiancé Taylor Swift, which will be the biggest celebrity wedding of 2026.
However, at this fork in the road, which way should he go? Pursuing sports broadcasting — largely based out of the east coast — and set himself up as the new Tom Brady, or go full Hollywood?
Insiders tell Page Six it’s the latter, with Kelce’s managers, twins Aaron and André Eanes, who have guided his career since college, hobnobbing around Tinseltown.
On Saturday, Dec. 13, our spies say they attended Zooey Deschanel’s Christmas bash in Los Angeles, pressing the flesh with TV and movie types, including Emmy-winning “White Lotus” producer David Bernad.
An industry source said, “it looks like they have a project on the go,” fueling rumors of a reality show which have percolated for a while.
Back in August, sources also told us Kelce, 36, had also been in talks with “Curb Your Enthusiasm” executive producer Jeff Shaffer about starring in a scripted TV series of his own.
“He is talking to Jeff about a show similar to ‘Curb’ that would follow him around. He would be playing himself, but … he wants to act.”
Industry sources add movie and TV powerhouses like Netflix have expressed interest in Kelce, and not for his prowess on the gridiron.
A Netflix source said Kelce’s future has been the talk of the town, musing that the streamer’s chief content officer Bela Bajara, “may well be having conversations with his team,” though, “everything at this level would be kept top secret for now.”
Kelce has certainly notched up plenty of camera time, not only through his on-field appearances but as a pitchman for State Farm, Experian and Pfizer, as well as promoting his own brands, including Accelerator Energy Drink and Garage Beer. Alongside his NFL earnings that has helped him amass a net worth of $70m, according to Forbes.
Another insider explained how this shows his proven appeal – which goes a long way in Hollywood.
“To me he’s an extremely valuable media personality in a poloraized country. He appeals to everybody and almost everybody knows who he is.
“He’s charismatic. He’s a future NFL Hall of famer. Even better, he’s a natural on television. He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s authentic. He reminds me of [Peyton and Eli] Manning [and] of Charles Barkley.”
In fact, some see the Manning brothers – who host their own “Manningcast” TV show on ESPN – as a model for how the Kelce brothers could develop “New Heights” and their off-field careers.
Travis and Jason, 38, signed a $100 million three-year deal back in August 2024 with podcast company Wondery to develop “New Heights”, which has 3.4 million followers on YouTube.
Jason, who played for the Philadelphia Eagles until 2024, has also landed a three-year $24 million contract with ESPN to become an analyst for “Monday Night Countdown.”
“ESPN could potentially team the brothers up. They’re even better together than they are separately,” John Kosner, a sports media advisor told Page Six.
“I see the brothers as a package deal when Travis retires, that could be the most appealing media combo of all.”
However, ESPN would likely face competition from other legacy networks like Fox, CBS, Amazon, ESPN, NBC and the NFL itself.
Another sports analyst said Travis may be able to command the best of both worlds, particularly if he signs up with Netflix or YouTube.
“It’s hard to see a path for him to be a game analyst. All of those top spots seem to be filled for the foreseeable future,” they noted.
“Netflix and YouTube are big partners that don’t have that many games. That might be a way where he can keep his toe dipped in football and get a big paycheck … Any network would want him – the question is does he want to go to a studio and work every week?”
A spokesperson for Kelce did not return Page Six’s request for comment.
One person unlikely to want Kelce spending too much time filming is Swift. Her schedule is freer now than it has been in years, after she has said she will not tour her latest album “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Still, even she has capitalized on her fiance’s airtime, drafting him in to appear in her Disney+ docu-series “The End of an Era.”
Speaking about their fiercely private relationship, Swift says on the show he’s the “right fit” for her because their “passions coexist and actually fuel each other.”
“Ultimately we love cheering each other on,” the “Shake It Off” songstress — frequently photographed in the boxes at Chiefs games with Kelce’s family — says in the show, adding: “That’s rad.”
Instagram/ Taylor Swift
In perhaps another hint of what’s to come, Swift, who celebrated her 36th birthday on Dec.13, was spotted holding her fiancé’s youngest niece, Jason and wife Kylie’s youngest daughter, Finnley, at his last football game.
She also joined her beau last week at a reunion with his high school football coach, Jeff Rotsky, in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Ohio-based coach told Page Six: “My hope and prayer is that he’s not done with football – obviously he’s still a terrific player. I still think he’s got the juice in him, but whatever he decides, he’s going to be great in the media entertainment business – he’s going to be a great actor.
“They’re a special couple – how they root for each other, cheer for each other. He has struck gold with her and she has struck gold with him,” Rotsky added.
However, Kelce has already hinted at retiring. On Dec. 14, the Chiefs were dramatically eliminated from playoff contention for the first time since 2014 in a disastrous game, which brought to an end an off season for the team, made worse by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, 30, suffering an ACL injury.
Speaking about Mahomes on the podcast, Kelce referred to his team as if he already is no longer a member.
“You know, hopefully, the Chiefs can get him back as soon as possible,” he said. “I know right now it’s kind of right around that week one or the beginning of the season next year,” he continued.
“I know he’s gonna be doing everything he can to get back out on that field for the Chiefs as soon as possible.”
It remains to be seen as to whether the same can be said about Kelce.
