Travis Kelce’s contract
Travis Kelce’s contract was just renewed with the Chiefs for an additional two years, making him the highest-paid tight end in the league. He’ll earn more than $17 million a year. “I told yall I’ll never let him leave!! Congrats my guy!,” Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes tweeted in response.
Kelce’s previous contract had a total guaranteed sum of $22,750,000 over four years. In 2021, he received a guaranteed roster bonus of $7 million, while in 2022, he earned $2 million of his salary as a guarantee. While that sounds like a lot of money—and it is— the combined value of all 32 NFL teams is currently $142.87 billion and football players should be entitled to their fair share of that considering they put their bodies on the line every week. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Travis Kelce’s net worth is around $30 million.
In a January 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, Kelce joked about how he isn’t paid enough. “My managers and agents love to tell me how underpaid I am,” he said. “Any time I talk about wanting more money, they’re just like, ‘Why don’t you go to the Chiefs and ask them?” The Chiefs are bound by a salary cap and players like All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill have moved elsewhere within the league—in Hill’s case, to the Miami Dolphins.
“When I saw Tyreek go and get 30 [million] a year, in the back of my head, I was like, ‘Man, that’s two to three times what I’m making right now,” he says. “I’m like, the free market looks like fun until you go somewhere and you don’t win. I love winning. I love the situation I’m in.”
He does think about it from time to time, but his allegiance is to the Chiefs. And to victory. “You see how much more money you could be making and, yeah, it hits you in the gut a little bit. It makes you think you’re being taken advantage of,” Kelce says. “I don’t know if I really pressed the gas if I would get what I’m quote-unquote worth,” he adds. “But I know I enjoy coming to that building every single day.” Kelce also has brand deals with Nike, Old Spice, T-Mobile and Dick’s Sporting Goods, McDonalds, and Papa Johns.
It also ignores the fact that Kelce’s romance with Taylor Swift has had a considerable impact on the game and expanded the Chiefs’ fan base. Studies show that Swift has increased the sales of Kelce’s jersey by 400 percent, making him one of the top five best-selling jerseys in the market. And her first NFL appearance was deemed “America’s Game of the Week”, having an average of over twenty-four million viewers.
Digital streaming device-maker Roku said the largest demographic increase for the Chiefs-Bears game was among women ages 18-49, jumping 63 percent week-over-week, even as the NFL has long enjoyed a roughly 50 percent female audience, per Reuters.
“This buzz around Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift isn’t just about speculation about their relationship, it’s about the Halo Effect at work – where one person’s influence boosts the appeal of others around them. Suddenly, football is more than a game; it’s a stage for pop culture,” communication expert Molly McPherson told Axios.
“It isn’t just an academic theory; it’s a savvy marketing move. When an All-Pro tight end like Travis Kelce invites Taylor Swift to a game, he’s essentially inviting her entire fan base to tune in as well. Swift, Kelce, the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs all come out ahead. There was only one loser in Sunday’s game, and it was the Chicago Bears.”