Chiefs Star Tight End Has A Bright Future As An Announcer

There’s a fascinating game of musical chairs going on that involves some top-shelf former NFL players, and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will almost certainly be a big beneficiary next year. 

The musical chairs game is happening in the suddenly high-stakes world of NFL announcing, where ex-players are making huge amounts of money. 

It’s something of a carousel that started with the news that former CBS lead analyst Tony Romo, who was formerly a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, would be leaving the network due to an incident that allegedly involved alcohol before the season in Wisconsin. 

That opened up a chair, which now looks like it could be filled by another former Cowboys quarterback, Troy Aikman, when he leaves CBS, which has been rumored for several days now. In addition, former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olson is apparently leaving Fox, so now there are top spots available at CBS, ESPN and Prime Video. 

The Prime Video opening is especially fascinating, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk and others have reported that Kirk Herbstreit has signed a contract extension that’s basically a placeholer until the Amazon streaming service can see who’s available. 

Olsen originally held the top spot at Fox until the network decided to sign former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to a ten-year deal for $360 million, and now there will be multiple openings. 

Kelce is considered the big prize in this. He’s having an excellent year with the Chiefs, but this is also almost certainly his last go-round, and he’s reportedly been “sniffing around” for the Prime Video spot, per Florio. 

The connection makes sense. Kelce already does semi-weekly appearances with his brother, former offensive lineman Jason Kelce, on their New Heights podcast as they dish on all things football and celebrity. Kelce would be a natural fit, presumably, and he’ll need another lucrative gig when he hangs up his cleats, although he won’t exactly be hurting for cash. 

Don’t understimate Kelce’s recent wedding to pop star Taylor Swift in all this, either. She helps generate enormous ratings when she appears in her private box at Chiefs home games to cheer Kelce on, and the networks would love to have even an indirect connection to the billionaire pop star. 

It’s a different world now up in the booth, and Kelce will almost certainly jump into it, although for now he’s busy catching key throws from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.