Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Travis Kelce Is Also A Megastar Off The Field

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is seemingly everything, everywhere all at once.

He has launched a fashion line, hosted Saturday Night Live, co-hosted Apple’s
AAPL
sixth most popular sports podcast, kicked off the 2023 NFL Draft in style and spearheaded Kelce Jam.

Is his plan to become a media mogul? An athlete-turned-jack-of-all-trades entertainer?

“There’s no real hidden goal,” Kelce exclusively shared. “Things just kind of come into place, and it’s fun.”

His latest fun venture was Kelce Jam, a concert and food festival that took place at Azura Amphitheater (formerly Sandstone) in Bonner Springs, Kan. on Friday, April 28 while Day Two of the 2023 NFL Draft unfolded across the city in downtown Kansas City, Mo.

More than 18,000 attended Kelce Jam despite rainy conditions, and it sold its first 10,000 tickets in 20 minutes.

Kelce Jam featured musicians Machine Gun Kelly, Tech N9ne, Rick Ross, and Loud Luxury (a Canadian DJ duo).

Kelce grew up in Cleveland near Kelly, who is his same age, and knew TechN9ne, a Kansas City native.

“We wanted the rock stars to come,” Kelce said. “We got ’em.”

Before performing “Fight for Your Right” with Kelly, Kelce — adorned in denim and a matching bucket hat — welcomed the crowd by emphatically spiking a replica of the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Ross hosted a Wingstop
WING
chicken wing eating contest, and local restaurants, including Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Q39, Jack Stack and Hawaiian Bros, were part of the event, which brought in more than 500 in local staff.

Medium Rare, the event production company that orchestrated Kelce Jam, and Kelce shared ownership of the festival, giving him more creative control than a mere appearance fee or endorsement.

Kelce received a 50/50 revenue share with Medium Rare, which is a favorable deal, considering the company is responsible for the bulk of the marketing, sponsorships, ticketing and other logistics.

Medium Rare used the same 50/50 revenue share model while producing parties with Shaquille O’Neal, Guy Fieri and Rob Gronkowski during the week of Super Bowl LVII, in which Kelce had 81 yards and a touchdown.

Between 4,000 and 10,000 fans attended each of Shaq’s Fun House, Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate and Gronk Beach parties.

Gronkowski’s party also took place at the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas, and Kelce met executives at Medium Rare there while relishing the atmosphere.

“It was absolutely electric,” Kelce said. “And I wanted to bring that to Kansas City.”

Since that 2022 draft, Kelce’s profile has only been heightened.

He won another Super Bowl (while playing against his older brother and New Heights podcast co-host Jason Kelce), helping lead to a rare opportunity hosting SNL.

In the show’s 48 years, only 35 athletes have hosted, and such honors have typically been reserved for superstars like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Kelce’s lasting impression of the show was how well-organized it was from Monday to Saturday. He praised the staff’s professionalism and how comfortable they made him feel.

“It was an unbelievable experience,” Kelce said. “I can’t really even explain it.”

On the field, he comes off a 2022 season in which he posted career highs in receptions (110) and receiving touchdowns (12) while recording 1,338 receiving yards.

That marks his seventh straight season of more than 1,000 yards, and no other tight end in NFL history has recorded more than three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

That on-field production remains the focus for the 33-year-old tight end despite the proliferation of off-the-field opportunities, which likely will include future Kelce Jams at the draft or Super Bowl.

“I love this game, man … on top of that, I’ve got a great group of guys that I go into work with, that I love going to work with,” he said. “So I’m always able to dial it back in, but I’m definitely going to have some fun time.”