Jason Kelce believes the secret sauce to his hit podcast “New Heights” is his “loving relationship” with his brother, Travis Kelce.
The retired NFL star and his sibling recently inked a deal worth a reported nine figures to move their podcast to Wondery, and Jason, 36, credits the show’s enormous success over the last two years to his brotherly bond with Travis, 34.
“I think on the podcast, you get, first of all, an organic, loving relationship between two brothers. We’re honest with each other. And it comes across,” Jason shared during ESPN’s media day on Wednesday, August 28, per People. “And we have good personalities that I think generally audience members appreciate, and like to want to watch and listen to, which I don’t know if I agree fully with that, but they’re there.”
Jason and Travis launched “New Heights,” which returned for its third season on Wednesday, back in 2022. Since then, the brothers have enjoyed crossover success, with Jason landing a role as an analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown and Travis securing various film and television roles.
“I think that we’re very, very open people by nature, and I think that we share things, and we obviously are living exciting lives that people want to follow,” Jason said. “And then all that stuff helps … because the more people watch, the more money advertisers spend.”
Jason and Travis’ new deal with Amazon-owned podcast studio Wondery was announced on Monday, August 26, and encompasses global distribution rights to the popular podcast, ad-sales representation, rights to past episodes, and the right to launch international adaptations of the podcast.
“We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Wondery for the next phase of ‘New Heights,’” the siblings said in a statement. “We love this show, and the fanbase that has grown with us over the last two seasons. Wondery understands the shared vision and will offer a wealth of experience and resources to take us to ‘New Heights!’ We are going to create some groundbreaking moments together through this partnership. We are thrilled to start Season 3 – see you soon, 92%ers!”
The siblings’ podcast has reached new heights of popularity over the last year thanks in part to Travis’ high-profile relationship with Taylor Swift, which he has often talked about on the podcast.
In fact, it was on “New Heights” that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end first revealed in July 2023 that he had hoped to pass Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it at her Eras Tour show at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The couple began dating sometime after the concert and went public in September 2023.