Jason Kelce has revealed the special ingredient in the success of his New Heights podcast with brother Travis.
The NFL star brothers inked a reported $100million deal with Amazon-owned Wondery to produce their hit show earlier this week.
The blockbuster deal comes of the back of a huge surge in popularity of the wildly successful podcast.
Jason, who is preparing for his broadcasting debut on ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Countdown on September 9 after retiring from the NFL in March, shared the key to their accomplishment.
‘I think on the podcast, you get, first of all, an organic loving relationship between two brothers who are honest with each other,’ the Philadelphia Eagles legend said at ESPN’s Media Day Wednesday. ‘And it comes across.
Jason Kelce has revealed the secret to the success of New Heights podcast with brother Travis
‘We have good personalities that I think generally audience members appreciate and like and want to watch and listen to, which I don’t know if agree with but they’re there.
‘I think that we share things, and we obviously are living exciting lives that people want to follow. And then all that stuff helps … because the more people watch, the more money advertisers spend.’
The podcast, which launched at the beginning of the 2022-23 NFL season, hit dizzying new heights over the course of the past year, even playing a role in sparking romance between Travis and Taylor Swift.
However, it won’t be the only media hit Jason will be hoping for this season as he steps into the broadcasting booth for the first time.
The center hung up his cleats in March after a decorated 13-year career with the Eagles and, after multiple networks reportedly vied for his signature, inked a deal to join ESPN’s flagship coverage on Monday Night Football.
Jason signed a multi-year contract with the network, which will see him appear pregame – on Monday Night Countdown – and at halftime. He will also be part of ESPN and ABC’s coverage of the Super Bowl XI in 2027.
He insisted that he would carry the tricks he’s learned from podcasting over to broadcasting.
‘How I’m going to try and take that to ESPN is, I’m going to continue to try and be authentic with myself,’ he said at ESPN’s Bristol campus. ‘Everybody I’ve talked to said, Be yourself, let your personality show, be authentic and honest. People appreciate that.
‘I’m going to try and carry that same level of authenticity I’ve had in my podcast, really my whole life throughout being a player.’
The two brothers have seen the popularity of their show surge over the past year
Travis and Taylor Swift’s relationship has been a key factor in the growth of the podcast
Throughout Wednesday’s panel alongside former Alabama football coach and new analyst Nick Saban and host Laura Rutledge, Jason credited his new colleagues for their support and advice ahead of his new chapter.
However, there was one ESPN host whose book he admitted he might not take a page out of.
‘I’m just trying not to end up like Pat [McAfee] in Dublin,’ he joked referencing the former NFL punter’s Guinness-fueled eponymous show in the Irish capital ahead of College GameDay last week.
‘We’re doing a tailgate in Philadelphia. I’m looking forward to participating in tailgates for the first time in a long time outside of Buffalo this past year.
‘It’s going to be wild. It’s going to be fun to be back there Week 2,’ he added, speaking abut his return to the City of Brotherly Love for the Eagles’ matchup against the Atlanta Falcons on September 16.
‘I was in Philadelphia for 13 years, and the community is where my wife and I live. We want to keep living in Philadelphia, so it’ll be a very fun experience to be out there.’
Jason joked he didn’t want to end up like Pat McAfee during his show in Ireland last week
Despite his little quip, Jason had nothing but praise for McAfee, who is approaching the one year anniversary of his Pat McAfee Show joining ESPN after its success on YouTube.
The former-NFL-player-turned-media-personality also joined ESPN’s College GameDay as a regular analyst last September.
‘He’s not playing anything, that’s who Pat is,’ Kelce said of McAfee’s larger-than-life character. ‘His mind is just always on, and he can rattle things off so quick.
‘ I think he’s the most talented guy in the industry as far as far as he’s just, he’s truly, truly special in that regard. And anybody that’s not a regular personality, show generally, is fun to be around.’
