What is Travis Kelce's Net Worth and Salary?
Travis Kelce is an American professional football player who has a net worth of $90 million. Travis Kelce is a professional football tight end who began playing in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013. Considered one of the greatest tight ends in the sport's history, he helped the Chiefs win Super Bowls LIV and LVII. Kelce also holds a number of NFL records, including for the fastest tight end to reach 10,000 career receiving yards. In September 2023 it was revealed and confirmed that Travis was dating Taylor Swift. Taylor made the relationship official when she began attending Travis' games. Their relationship, and the Chief's subsequent Super Bowl win, was arguably one of the biggest news stories in America in 2023.
Salary & Career Earnings
In his first 10 years in the NFL, Travis earned a little under $80 million in NFL salary. In 2013, Travis Kelce signed a four-year, $3.12 million deal with the Chiefs. In 2016 he signed a five-year $46 million extension. That extension came with $22 million in guaranteed money and works out to an average annual salary of around $14 million. In late-April 2024, Travis signed a two-year $34.25 million extension wit the Chiefs. The contract works out to an average annual salary of $17.125 million and will bring his NFL career earnings above $100 million when it's done. Travis also makes $5 million per year from endorsements with companies like McDonald's, Nike, Papa John's, Bud Light, State Far and more.
$100 Million Podcast Deal
In 2022, the Kelce brothers launched a weekly podcast called "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce." In August 2024, Travis and Jason signed a 3-year, $100 million deal with Amazon's Wondery podcast service to bring their show to the platform. The deal gives Wondery rights to distribute and sell ads for the duo's popular podcast.
Early Life and High School
Travis Kelce was born on October 5, 1989 in Westlake, Ohio to Donna and Ed. His older brother is Jason, who also went on to become an NFL player. As a teenager, Kelce attended Cleveland Heights High School, where he played football, baseball, and basketball. He excelled most in football, playing as a quarterback. In his senior year, Kelce was awarded All-Lake Erie League honors after amassing 2,539 yards of total offense.
College Career
For college, Kelce chose to attend the University of Cincinnati, where he joined his brother on the Bearcats football team. After redshirting for his first year in 2008, he recorded eight rushes for 47 yards and two touchdowns in 2009. In 2010, Kelce was suspended for the season due to a failed drug test. He returned in 2011 to set a number of personal records, including for receptions (45) and receiving yards (722).
Kansas City Chiefs
In the 2013 NFL Draft, Kelce was chosen in the third round by the Kansas City Chiefs. His first season with the team was a brief one, as he was placed on injured reserve in mid-October after having knee surgery. Kelce bounced back in 2014, recording his first NFL touchdown and first NFL game with over 100 receiving yards. He ended the season as the Chiefs' leading receiver, with 862 total yards. Kicking off the 2015 season, Kelce had his first NFL multiple-touchdown game in a win over the Houston Texans. The Chiefs went on to finish the regular season with an 11-5 record. In the Divisional Round, the team fell to the New England Patriots.
Kelce had another strong season in 2016, recording career highs in yards (1,125) and receptions (85). Moreover, the Chiefs finished at the top of the AFC West with a 12-4 record. They once again lost in the Divisional Round, however, this time to the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2017, Kelce finished the regular season with a career high of eight receiving touchdowns, and came in second among tight ends with 1,038 receiving yards. The Chiefs made it to the Wild Card Round, but were defeated by the Tennessee Titans. Kelce did not finish the game due to a concussion in the first half. He came back strong in 2018 to help lead the Chiefs to a first-place AFC West finish. The team made it to the AFC Championship, where they fell to the Patriots.
Kelce and the Chiefs were on fire in 2019. During a late-season game against the Chicago Bears, Kelce became the fastest tight end in NFL history to amass 500 career receptions. When he finished the season, he had also become the first tight end in NFL history to have four consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards. The Chiefs went on to blaze through the Divisional Round and the AFC Championship en route to Super Bowl LIV, where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31-20. The team made it to the Super Bowl again the next year, but fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 31-9 loss.
In 2021, Kelce set or extended a number of records, including for most 1,000-yard seasons by a tight end, with six. In the final game of the regular season, he became the fastest tight end in NFL history to reach 9,000 career yards. The Chiefs proceeded to win the Wild Card Round and the Divisional Round before losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship. In 2022, Kelce once again helped lead his team to the postseason, and ultimately to Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. Notably, it was the first Super Bowl featuring two brothers on opposing teams, as Jason Kelce was playing for the Eagles. Ultimately, the Chiefs won 38-35.
Endorsements
In addition to his NFL salary, Travis makes $5 million per year from endorsements thanks to deals with companies including:
- McDonald's
- Nike
- Papa John's
- Bud Light
- Sleep Number
- Tide
- State Farm
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- T-Mobile
- Experian
- Old Spice
- Pfizer
- Walgreens
- DirecTV
Did Travis Kelce Make $20 Million From Pfizer?
In September 2023 Travis debuted as a spokesman for Pfizer to promote its COVID vaccine educational campaign. Travis revealed the partnership with an Instagram post urging people to get the COVID-19 booster and commercials then aired during NFL games several days later. This campaign, along with Travis' campaign for Bud Light, drew ire from conservative audiences. Some tweets soon went viral that claimed Travis got paid $20 million for the Pfizer partnership. There is no evidence that this is true. Based on comparable partnerships, it's much more likely that the deal value is closer to $1-2 million.
(Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
Casa Azul Tequila
In February 2023 Travis became an equity investor in Casa Azul Tequila. Casa Azul was founded by the same team that created Core water and Fuze tea. In October 2023 Taylor Swift was seen in a private box at one of Travis' games drinking a Casa Azul Tequila.
Media Appearances
Beyond football, Kelce has made some notable media appearances. In 2016, he starred on the E! reality television dating show "Catching Kelce," on which he picked Maya Benberry as the winner. The two ultimately broke up in early 2017. Later, following his Super Bowl LVII victory in 2023, Kelce hosted an episode of "Saturday Night Live," during which his brother Jason made an appearance.
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Personal Life
In 2017, Kelce began dating social media personality Kayla Nicole. The pair broke up five years later. In September 2023 it was revealed and confirmed that Travis was dating Taylor Swift.
Kelce has a foundation called Eighty-Seven & Running that provides mentoring, training, and other opportunities to underserved youth. He began the organization in 2015.
Real Estate
In 2019 Travis paid $995,000 for a 10,000 square foot mansion in Kansas City, Missouri.
In October 2023 Travis reportedly paid a little under $6 million for a 16,000 square foot mansion in a gated community in Kansas City.
