NFL star brothers Travis and Jason Kelce are parlaying their runaway hit podcast into a clothing line.
The pair are launching their “New Heights” clothing line in collaboration with clothing brand Homage. While the line is not affiliated with the NFL, Homage works with the league, presenting potential avenues of expansion for the Kelces brand.
The clothing line will begin as a way for people to display their love of the brothers’ podcast, “New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce,” from Wave Sports + Entertainment, which launched at the start of the NFL season in September.
- The brand will initially carry t-shirts and hoodies displaying the show’s logo, cartoon depictions of the brothers, and popular catchphrases from their show.
- The podcast notches nearly 500,000 downloads per episode, according to Travis’ manager Aaron Eanes, president of A&A Management Group. Episodes featuring the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, teammates to Travis and Jason respectively, each hit over 780,000 views on YouTube.
- The show ranks as Spotify’s top sports podcast and third among all categories.
The podcast “is a pretty big marketing platform for this type of partnership,” said Eanes. “There have been numerous viral moments that we thought would be very good to capitalize on.”
The “New Heights” line is separate from Travis Kelce’s high-end clothing brand Tru Kolors, which launched in 2018. The following year he founded performance gummy company Hilo Nutrition, and has investments in around 15 companies, according to Andre Eanes, A&A president and chief business officer.
Media Man
Travis, 33, is no stranger to media, having starred in a Bachelor-esque reality show “Catching Kelce” in 2016. With the success of the podcast, the star receiver is already thinking bigger.
“One of his goals is to host ‘SNL,’” said Eanes. “He’s someone who just loves comedy.”
With the Manning brothers combining their familial banter and football knowledge into a hit alternate broadcast, retired quarterback Tony Romo securing a reported $17 million with CBS, and Tom Brady reportedly already set for a record broadcasting contract when he retires, Travis Kelce has plenty of examples of NFL players who turned a media-friendly personality into a hugely successful second career.
“When he’s done playing, he sees himself as someone who might want to be in the booth,” said Aaron Eanes.
