Final April, Jason Kelce entered the NFL’s West Coast media hub in Inglewood, California (it’s proper subsequent door to SoFi Stadium), with trepidation. In an in any other case nondescript convention room, Kelce talked with these sitting with him in regards to the difficulties that NFL stars can have after they retire from the sport, an attendee remembers.
Kelce was in Los Angeles to attend the NFL’s broadcast boot camp, which offers gamers an opportunity to hone their expertise for TV, radio, podcasts and different mediums.
“So many guys are thinking about, ‘How can I keep in soccer?’ ‘I believe I’d be good on TV, however I’m not likely positive,’ ” Tracy Perlman, the NFL’s senior vp participant operations, instructed The Hollywood Reporter on the time in regards to the boot camp. “So this offers them the chance to find out about it and perceive the dedication it takes, and it offers them the reps to determine, ’Am I good at this or not?’ ”
And Kelce, who already had successful podcast when he entered the camp (New Heights, which he co-hosts together with his brother, Travis Kelce), “crushed it,” within the phrases of the attendee.
“All of us knew he’s gonna be a star, if he needs to be,” they added.
Jason and Travis Kelce discovered fame for his or her on-the-field soccer expertise, however the pair have since turn out to be two of the most popular names within the media enterprise, and curiosity of their providers is claimed to be in excessive demand.
Look no additional than Travis Kelce’s newest gig: recreation present host. Kelce, whereas nonetheless an lively tight finish with the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs, has been taping a reimagining of the sport present Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? for Amazon Prime Video titled Are You Smarter Than a Celeb? with well-known faces changing the titular schoolkids. Prime introduced the 20-episode pickup Wednesday.
The Chiefs star signed with CAA final 12 months for his off-the-field work.
Throughout this 12 months’s Tremendous Bowl week in Las Vegas, Jason Kelce (probably conscious that he would formally retire a month later) was courted by most of the league’s broadcast companions, searching for to entice him to their studio reveals or broadcast cubicles (The Athletic named CBS, NBC and ESPN as potential touchdown spots).
He already has made one high-profile look since retiring: On April 6, Jason Kelce and teammate Lane Johnson donned Eagles-themed luchador masks and helped WWE star Rey Mysterio win his match at Wrestlemania 40 on April 6, with the gang giving the Eagles stars a standing ovation.
However whereas Jason is pursuing NFL-related choices, Travis already is considering past the sport present. The Chiefs star, in fact, hosted Saturday Night time Dwell final 12 months, and he lately instructed THR that he’s thinking about pursuing scripted roles as nicely.
“I’m out right here in L.A. attempting to get extra comfy within the leisure world earlier than we begin again up with this soccer factor, realizing that that’s my major focus in my life, and it’ll at all times be that till I’m executed taking part in,” Kelce mentioned. “However I’m undoubtedly nonetheless dabbling within the scripted world, the leisure world, and we’ll see the place that street takes me. I’m extraordinarily excited, however on the identical time, I do know I’m a little bit of an newbie in that world, so I undoubtedly received to get comfy and, I don’t know, put my very own creativity on it.”
Travis additionally was in Hollywood to file an episode of New Heights, joined in individual by Jason, now a 12 months after his flip on the NFL’s broadcast boot camp. And so they had a shock visitor: motion star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was showing on their podcast for an prolonged interview.
Schwarzenegger heaped reward on the brothers for his or her authenticity and the enjoyable they’ve on the present, earlier than shifting the dialog to a subject he mentioned ought to possibly be “off the file.”
“Quite a lot of instances you guys do the present the place you’re in one other place and you’re in one other place, proper? And it’s this split-screen factor which actually works nicely, yeah,” Schwarzenegger mentioned, noting how Jason and Travis would host the present from their respective houses in Pennsylvania and Kansas Metropolis throughout the NFL season. “However now you’re collectively, since you’re in Hollywood. There are causes — I’m not silly, proper — there’s a purpose why these guys received you collectively in Hollywood. I imply, there’s all types of interviews being scheduled.”
The brothers laughed it off, although Travis puzzled aloud if he had any elements accessible.
However it’s New Heights that would find yourself being the brothers’ greatest deal but. The present routinely carried out nicely on Apple and Spotify podcast charts since its debut in 2022, and it usually hit No. 1 after Travis Kelce’s romance with music celebrity Taylor Swift went public close to the beginning of the final NFL season.
Now the present is being shopped round for a brand new deal, with Swift herself sporting a New Heights baseball cap at Coachella earlier this month.
And whereas the podcast market writ giant has cooled, high reveals are nonetheless scoring huge paydays.
Joe Rogan reupped with Spotify in a deal estimated at $250 million, and the Jason Bateman-, Will Arnett- and Sean Hayes-hosted SmartLess left Amazon for SiriusXM in a $100 million deal. An eight-figure deal for New Heights definitely needs to be in play.
“I believe everyone’s type of shocked on the way it’s taken off the way in which it has,” Travis Kelce instructed THR. “However we simply began off by eager to showcase our brotherhood and our similarities realizing that we’re actually two completely different walks of life. … We wished to offer folks a firsthand take a look at what it’s wish to be on the lunch desk or on the dinner desk with Jason and Travis Kelce.”
And whereas the subject of dialog over dinner for many of their grownup lives has been soccer, Hollywood is asking, and the doorways are opening.
It would make for brand spanking new dinner dialog fodder.